Toyota's world of hyper kaizen takes hold
No expense too tiny to cut
by Hans Greimel - Automotive News

TOKYO -- Curious about how Toyota really works? Check out this episode:

A Toyota engineer has to make a business trip from company headquarters in Nagoya to Tokyo. Normally he would luxuriate in the bullet train's reclining seats, maybe pulling out a laptop to work on the 1 hour, 40 minute trip.

But because the world's top automaker is in a profit pinch, he gladly offers to carpool instead -- squeezing into a company loaner with two colleagues for a four-hour gridlock grind.

Welcome to the world of hyper kaizen. Like never before, Toyota Motor Corp. is screwing down costs. No expense is too tiny. And cuts often hinge on employee initiative.

"We calculated three bullet train tickets vs. one vehicle with three persons," says Takeaki Kato, who came to the capital to talk to reporters about the revamped Lexus RX crossover.

"Previously, 20,000 yen ($226) vs. 17,000 yen ($193), we would think it's almost the same," he said, adding that they usually chose what was convenient, even if pricier. "But in this case, a 3,000 yen ($33) difference is very big, so there is no choice. We will take this, costwise."

Kaizen, or the principle of continual improvement, drives Toyota's unrelenting success like nothing else. Making it all the more potent is its deep roots in workers' psyches. Workers relish thinking up ways to help the company, even at their own inconvenience.

An extreme case was reported a couple of years back. A Toyota employee realized the company could save a couple of dollars each time if workers visiting headquarters walked to the farthest exit of Nagoya Station for a taxi, instead of the exit outside the turnstile. Guess what became policy?

Now there is new urgency as Toyota faces its first operating loss in seven decades.

President Katsuaki Watanabe is leading an "emergency profit" committee charged with trimming fat. On the big scale, that means doing things like redesigning the electrical systems of cars to use few computer chips or scaling back on contract workers.

But Kato says another result is "big pressure" on employees to devise their own savings.

One easy adjustment has been more teleconferencing instead of face-to-face meetings, he says. Toyota's Tokyo offices have shut down elevators to save money and are even scrutinizing the cost of subscriptions to publications such as The New York Times.

Kaizen pushes employees to solve evolving challenges with unconventional thinking. In Japan, where a familial sense of commitment -- and the promise of lifetime employment -- bonds workers with their company, thinking this way comes easily.

Inculcating that mind-set overseas has been another matter.

When Toyota branched into America with its Georgetown, Ky., plant, it became painfully obvious a formalized training would be needed. And Toyota rolled out written manuals that taught standardized work methods and preached the company's values.

The result: The Global Production Center in Japan that teaches the Toyota Way to workers worldwide. For good measure, branches in America and Thailand also hammer home the cause.

http://www.autonews.com/article/2009...901229972/1197

 

That was a good read, wonder if GM is taking notes lol.

 

I doubt it. Living in the western world, we often have the "me first" or "my interests first" attitude. Kaizen will not work at GM or any American car manufacturer unless management leads by example. And considering all the perks that upper management gets, hell would have to freeze over before that happens.

 

Yep, hopefully they sell the corporate jets.

 

i read this as:


a coming of cheaper materials.

 

Then you don't know the Japanese at all. Workers will sacrifice some to keep the company profitable. Quality will remain the same if not better in the years to come. You need to understand the mentality that striving for perfection actually means that here.

You also have to understand the meaning of "Kaizen", it means to improve, so reducing quality is not an option. People will go to great lenghts here no matter how small and make it seem significant. 15 years in business here has taught me that the most of rest of the world businesse are so far behind it is not funny

 

Lower cost materials doesn't matter if the end result is the same quality/fit/finish/feel.

 

I still find it interesting how the Americans laughed at Deming's teachings. GM should have hired Deming instead of letting him go to Japan.

 

I think in theory its great. At what cost productivity though? Will the workers be more tired? Will they have less energy and brainpower?

 

Makes sense how a country so tiny is the 2nd largest economy in the world behind a country about 10000000x it's size.

 

No theory required... It is working here right now. Unfortunately the ways of the western world are creeping in and people are beginging to become lazy and self centered. People work as a unit here, life for the most part revolves around work and family, friends are usually your colleges and asociated social gatherings for the most part are work connected this makes for a more close knitt work environment, which improves production.

About you question on loss of energy and brainpower, it is only a matter of getting used to.

 

I appreciate what they are trying to do, but isn't that like shooting your self in the foot? I mean how does that encourages the consumer to go out and spend? In fact it sends the opposite message that "oh these are bad times, every body should penny pinch"

 

The company I work for now is actually trying to imitate and adopt Toyota's Kaizen philosophy. I thnk it's smart of them to do so before the company hits rock bottom and goes bankrupt a la Detroit's big three.

 

Oh i know the japanese just fine. I do 95% of my business over there and most of the stuff i import comes from there so don't say i don't know them.

However, what i'm saying is that let's say there is a piece of engine that's held in by 4 latches and they say, oh you only need 2 latches to hold it. Sure that's kaizen, but I'd rather have the 4 latches which is overkill and could still hold the piece in if 2 broke than 2 which is just right.

Maybe i conveyed the wrong message by saying cheaper materials. The cost of having 2 latches is cheaper than 4. That's what i meant.


I hope that made sense.

 

They do what they have to do. If toyota is doing this can you imagine what GM is going to have to do to the employees and even the cars they are producing. The money has to come from somewhere