Japan Lean Tour - 4 days before the earthquake

We are going to continue counting down each day and present the unfolding of Japan Lean Tour events leading up to the earthquake day. Monday March 7th was the first official kick off of the Japan Lean Tour program. It was a "soft start" as we balanced business objectives of the day with some sightseeing. We went to visit Softbank, one of the largest software/cellular providers and listened an insightful lecture by Mr. Sakae, a former supply chain executive from Olympus.

We spent the afternoon visiting Tokyo tower and Ginza, where we studied how Japanese use 5S in their department stores.

Here are some of the photos from our Day One:

And here's the previously posted Day One Japan Lean Tour video summary from this day.  Again, please keep in mind that this video was filmed and edited four days before the earthquake, and therefore the atmosphere was still upbeat and uplifting as we had no idea what would take place later that week.

Japan Lean Tour - 5 days before the earthquake

I am sorry that it is taking extra time for us to post our photos from the most recent Japan Lean Tour, but as you can imagine, we had so much priorities to deal with that we were unable to process them earlier. In memory of what has taken place leading up to the earthquake, we are going to post photos and videos one day at a time.

Exactly two weeks ago, our Japan Lean Tour program members arrived in Japan (Sunday March 6).  With absolutely no knowledge of what would unfold just five days later, our Japan Lean team went out for a casual dinner at a local restaurant in Tokyo and prepared for the start of the Japan program next day.

The members were tired but filled with anticipation, since for many, this was a first trip to Japan.

Here are some photos from Sunday March 6, exactly five days before the earthquake struck Japan.

And here is the previously posted summary video of the day (again, please keep in mind that this was taken 5 days before the disaster):

LSI-affliated members in Japan.

A number of people asked us if any of LSI affliated members or friends in Japan are doing fine.  We wanted to let everyone know that we have confirmation that all LSI-related members and immediate family members are safe even though they may be situated in Japan.

This includes our past LSI members such as Ryoko (in Tokyo), Ayako (past intern, now in France), Emi (past intern, back at home in Nagoya), and LSI Japan affliates Mot (resting near Mount Fuji area), Mr. Sakae (our supply chain specialist, still in Tokyo), and various Toyota/Denso/Nissan factory tour members (all in their respective home town).

As well, LSI staff's family members located throughout Japan are confirmed to be safe and sound.

We want to thank everyone who contacted us asking about our extended family members. We are appreciative of your concerns and happy to report that everyone in our immediate circle of network are healthy and safe.

Radiation Issues

One of the key concerns about Japan is no longer the tsunami or the aftershocks, but the radiation issue.  Here are some facts to help people understand the "real" threats vs "perceived" threats.  First from CNN:

"A U.S. radiation expert has said there's not much reason to worry despite restrictions on some food produced in two provinces around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Japan slapped on the restrictions after high levels of radioactivity turned up in spinach and milk.  Dr. James Cox, professor of radiation oncology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said the reported levels posed little or no health concerns."

One of our Blackbelt members who was in Japan with us, has created a "Nuclear Reactors 101" document so that we can better understand what this is all about.  With his expertise in healthcare, he provided us with an interesting document that provides insights about the whole issue:

Nuclear Reactor – Simplified Explanation


By: B. Barton

U238 (uranium) is a naturally occurring, radioactive element. It can be converted (enriched) to another form of uranium (it’s isotope), called U235. If a free neutron collides with a U235 nucleus, the nucleus will absorb the neutron, become unstable and split in two. When it splits (i.e., decays), energy is released in the form of heat, slow neutrons, beta rays, and gamma rays. The splitting of a U235 nucleus is called nuclear fission. The slow neutrons that are released go on to split more U235 nuclei and this chain reaction is called a nuclear reaction.

A nuclear reactor is made up of:
• fuel rods that contain pellets of U235,

• control rods that can be raised and lowered to block the neutrons, thus slowing down or speeding up the reaction,

• a moderator; water that absorbs the heat that is given off by the reaction,

• a reaction chamber that contains the fuel rods, control rods, and moderator,

• a containment vessel or shell made of steel and concrete that covers the reaction chamber to contain the radiation.

Water inside pipes that circulate through the water in the reactor core is heated and drives steam turbines which power a generator, producing electricity.

A pound of highly enriched uranium contains the energy equivalent of approximately one million gallons of gasoline.
Nuclear Reactors - In Japan Following the Earthquake

Following the earthquake, the nuclear reactors in Japan were automatically shut down by the control rods but even though the fission reactions stopped, the fuel rods remained hot and continued to heat the water in the core to the point where it partially evaporated. There are normally pipes that circulate cold water through the water in the core to prevent this, but in Japan there was no electricity to operate this cooling system so some of the moderator water evaporated, exposing the fuel rods to air. When this happened, the rods became so hot that they melted in places (partial meltdown). When the rods melted, they released radioactive U235 into the core. Operators pumped sea water into the core to try to cool the moderator water but as they did, it was instantly heated and evaporated faster than they could replace it.

The amount of radiation that was being detected at the Fukushima power plant on March 12th (the day after) was very low, approximately 1 mSv/hr (millisieverts are a unit that measures the absorbed dose of radiation.). In comparison:

Naturally occurring background radiation ~ 2 mSv/yr

Chest X-ray 0.1 mSv

Mammogram 0.4 mSv

Abdomen X-ray 1.2 mSv

Annual exposure to aircrew travelling from New York to Tokyo 9 mSv

Abdomen or Pelvic CT Scan 10 mSv

Nuclear Medicine Heart Scan 10 mSv

MRI Scan no ionizing radiation

Ultrasound Scan no ionizing radiation

Radiation sickness and nausea 1,000 mSv

LD 50/40 5,000 mSv

Death within hours of exposure 20,000 mSv

It is important to note, however, that the amount of radiation that one receives is governed by the inverse square law. In addition, if radioactive dust (fallout) were to travel as far as North America, it would be so dissipated by the time it arrived that the radiation exposure from it would be negligible.

Potassium Iodide for Radiation Protection

The thyroid gland takes up (absorbs) iodide, converts it to iodine and uses the iodine to make T3 (thiiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxin), the hormones that regulate metabolism. The thyroid will take up only as much iodide as it can use so when its stores are full it won’t absorb any more.

I131, an isotope of iodine, is one of the products of uranium fission. To prevent the thyroid from absorbing radioactive I131, one can saturate the thyroid’s stores with potassium iodide and this is why some people are taking this supplement.

Potassium iodide pills are being advertised on the internet as “Nuke Pills” and “Radiation Pills” and this is misleading as this type of supplementation will not prevent radiation induced cancer in any organ other than the thyroid.

Iodide supplementation would only be of benefit to those who are being exposed to high doses of I131, and in North America this is not the case.

Let's Move into action for Japan

Japan is now in full recovery mode, trying to rebuild the nation while resolving the radiation issue at the same time.  This may be the time for us to ask ourselves if we have done anything about Japan.  Let's do something - anything - to help Japan recover and rebuild.  We can pray, donate, assist, communicate, share, deploy, give, help, or whatever.  Instead of watching CNN, maybe we can pickup a phone and call someone that you know in Japan.  Instead of reading more stories about "what happened," maybe we can spend more time thinking about "what we can do about the future of Japan."

More than 21,000 people are now confirmed dead or missing.  I still have a relative and close friends in Japan.  But thinking and doing are not the same thing - it's time for each one of us to take action to rebuild Japan.  It will take months, maybe years, for them to get back to normal and they are going to need our support for years to come.

It's time to take action.  It's time to embrace the future. It's time to recommit and rebuild.

Nissan post-earthquake activities

Source: Nissan Media

Yokohama, Japan – March 16, 2011 – An update to previous reports regarding the impact of the recent earthquake on Nissan and the facilities of our affiliated companies.

Although all plants, except for the Iwaki engine plant, have been able to repair some damaged facilities and/or equipment, it is still taking time to arrange delivery of parts from our suppliers. As for the Iwaki engine plant, with aftershocks still heavily impacting the region, restoration activities are expected to take longer than at other plants. Our operations schedule will be as follows.

• Oppama Plant, Tochigi Plant, Yokohama Plant, Nissan Shatai
  Suspending operations until Sunday, March 20
  (Note: Part of the Yokohama Plant resumed operations on March 13.)
• Kyushu Plant, Nissan Shatai Kyushu
  Resuming production on Thursday, March 17, and Friday, March 18, while inventory of supplies lasts. However, operations after Saturday March 19 are yet to be decided.

• JATCO’s Fuji Plant and Fujinomiya Plant, which manufactures transmissions, have reported partial damage to its buildings and equipment. Operations have been suspended and damage is currently being assessed.

• Including the 30,000,000 yen already committed to the NGO Japan Platform, announced on March 12, Nissan will donate more than 400,000,000 yen in cash and in-kind contributions to support earthquake relief efforts. This includes global and regional corporate donations, employee gift matching, as well as the provision of 50 vehicles to support aid agencies in the affected areas of Japan

• We have confirmed the safety of all expat employees in Japan. Currently, all business travel to Japan has been suspended. Nissan is aware that a number of national governments have recommended their citizens consider leaving the greater Tokyo area or Japan entirely. Nissan has no current plan to repatriate its foreign employees, but we are working with each employee regarding their own personal choices and fully respect their decision to stay or leave.

Updated Earthquake Impact on Honda Operations

Source: Honda Media
March 17, 2011

Media Response (new information in this update appears in boldface type)
March 17, 2011 – 12:30 p.m. PDT
Honda would like to express its deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Japan, and our sincere hopes for the earliest possible relief and recovery of the affected areas.
Japan
Damage was widespread in the Tochigi area, where Honda has a number of operations. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has confirmed the fatality of a Honda R&D associate at the Tochigi R&D Center, when a wall collapsed in a cafeteria. The associate was male, 43 years old.
In addition, 17 Honda associates were injured in the Tochigi area from collapsing ceilings and other damage during the earthquake (initial reports put the number of injured at 30).
Japan Operations

• As of March 14, all production activities are suspended at the following Honda plants: Sayama Plant at Saitama Factory (Sayama, Saitama), Ogawa Plant (Ogawa-machi, Hiki-gun Saitama), Tochigi Factory (Moka, Tochigi), Hamamatsu Factory (Hamamatsu, Shizuoka) and Suzuka Factory (Suzuka, Mie).
  
• From March 15 through 20, Honda will suspend all production activities at its plants listed above as well as at Kumamoto Factory (Ozu-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto).
  
• From March 14 through 20, Honda will suspend regular operations at all Honda facilities in the Tochigi area, where damage was more serious, and focus on the recovery of each operation. Honda associates will not come to work during this time at those facilities, including Tochigi Factory, Honda R&D Co., Ltd., R&D Center and Honda Engineering Co., Ltd.
• Honda is cooperating with electricity conservation efforts and rolling blackout measures, prioritizing the relief and recovery of affected areas.
• Honda has made contact with all Tier 1 suppliers in Japan and is collecting information from them regarding the status of their operations.

Aid
With the hope to contribute to the earliest possible relief and recovery of affected areas, Honda will provide the following aid:

• From Honda in Japan, 300 million yen (approximately $3.7 million) toward the relief and recovery effort
  
• A total of 1,000 generators (gasoline-powered and home-use gas canister-powered), along with 5,000 gas canisters. Honda also will dispatch its staff to explain the use of this equipment.
• The Honda family of companies in North America will establish special matching gift programs for their associates for donations to the Red Cross to aid the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Donations from associates will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis, with no personal or corporate donation limit. Honda employs more than 29, 000 associates in North America.
• Many Honda dealers have reached out to express their heartfelt concern and support regarding relief and recovery efforts in Japan. American Honda Motor Co., Inc has established a special website to accept donations to the Red Cross from its automotive, motorcycle and power equipment dealers who wish to contribute in this way.

North American Operations
Honda has confirmed the wellbeing of all Honda associates on assignment in Japan from North America.
There is no immediate impact on Honda's operations in North America. More than 80% of Honda and Acura products sold in the U.S. are produced in North America, and the vast majority of automotive parts for Honda automobiles manufactured in North America are sourced in the region.
The following vehicles we build in North America are supported by our base of 600-plus North American first-tier suppliers:

Marysville, Ohio Honda Accord, Honda Accord Coupe, Acura TL, Acura RDX
East Liberty, Ohio Honda CR-V, Honda Element, Honda Accord Crosstour
Greensburg, Ind. Honda Civic Sedan, Honda Civic GX natural gas
Lincoln, Alabama Honda Odyssey, Honda Pilot, Honda Ridgeline
Alliston, Ontario Honda Civic (Sedan, Coupe, Si) Acura MDX, Acura ZDX, Acura CSX (The CSX is sold only in Canada)
El Salto, Mexico Honda CR-V

Honda is assessing the long-term impact on Honda auto production in North America, since some auto parts are supplied from Japan.
We currently have adequate inventory of products supplied from Japan, both in inventory and in transit from Japan.
Honda Fit, Insight, CR-Z, Civic Hybrid, Acura TSX and Acura RL are produced in Japan for the North American market. Honda produces a small percentage of CR-Vs in Japan for the U.S. as well.
Honda's operations in North America and globally will do everything they can to support the recovery of Honda's operations in Japan.

Updated Toyota Statement Regarding Earthquake Situation in Japan

 Source: Toyota Media

Updated Toyota Statement Regarding Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

(March 16, 2011; Posted at 3:15 PM EDT) - Regarding Toyota's North American operations, so far the impact is limited. All 13 North American vehicle and engine plants are running normally, although overtime has been curtailed for now to assure we maintain adequate inventories of parts that come from Japan. In addition, since most parts and materials for Toyota's North American-built vehicles are provided by suppliers in North America, this helps insulate Toyota's North American plants from production interruptions in Japan.

Regarding dealerships in Canada, inventories are good with adequate levels of supply.  Toyota now makes 12 different models in North America, including high-volume vehicles such as Camry, Corolla, RAV4, and Lexus RX 350, and just over 80 percent of all Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold in Canada are made in North America.

Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan is donating 300 million yen (approximately $3.75 million) to support relief efforts.

We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

-  -  

 Previous Updates:

(March 16, 2011; Posted at 7:00 AM EDT) - We continue to place priority on supporting the relief efforts in the regions affected and ensuring that our team members, the employees at subsidiary vehicle manufacturers and at our suppliers—and all their respective family members—are safe. 

With that in mind, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has decided to continue the vehicle-production halt started on March 14 at all plants in Japan (including subsidiary vehicle manufacturers) through March 22.

A decision on when vehicle production will resume in Japan has yet to be made. 

Separately, we will resume production of replacement parts for vehicles already on the market beginning March 17. This will allow us to take care of current Toyota owners who may need repairs.

Additionally, in an effort to keep production lines moving overseas, we plan to restart production of parts for overseas production on March 21. 

We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

- -

(March 14, 2011, 9:30 a.m.) - We continue to place priority on supporting the relief efforts in the regions affected and ensuring that our team members, the employees at subsidiary vehicle manufacturers and at our suppliers—and all their respective family members—are safe.   

To that end, we are halting production at all plants in Japan (including subsidiary vehicle manufacturers) from March 14 through March 16.  

We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

-  -

Toyota's associates and team members in North America extend our heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences to the people of Japan, our colleagues and their families.

Our utmost concern has been the safety of all Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) team members and team members at our partner companies in the Tohoku region.

TMC has established a company-wide emergency task force to continually assess the situation and take initial measures.

There have been no reported injuries at Toyota operations, including the Tokyo head office, the Higashifuji facility, Tochigi office, Yamanashi office, Toyota Motor Tohoku facilities and at TMC subsidiary vehicle manufacturers.

While TMC plants were able to restart production on 3/11, plants that stopped production are Toyota subsidiary plants that produce parts and vehicles, including:

• Toyota Motor Hokkaido Plant
• Toyota Motor Tohoku Plant
• Central Motor Corporation Miyagi Plant, which also produces the Yaris model.
• Kanto Auto Works Iwate Plant, which also produces the Scion xB and Scion xD.

Employees at these facilities were evacuated to safe areas.

We are now conducting a detailed survey of each plant to determine the extent of any damage. We are also currently assessing the situation at our suppliers, dealers and the impact on North American import vehicles.

As we are committed to ensuring the safety of our team members and their families, Toyota has decided to suspend production at all TMC plants, as well as all subsidiary vehicle-manufacturing plants on Monday, March 14th.

Toyota’s number one priority is to support our team members at TMC, our partner companies, suppliers and dealers through this situation. On behalf of the company globally, TMC is moving to donate 300 million yen (approximately $3.75 million) for relief and recovery efforts in communities affected by the Tohoku Earthquake and is also considering the provision of goods and services as needed.

We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

Everybody is back!

LSI is extremely happy to report that every single member of our Japan Lean Tour program is now back in town.  We had a few people who stayed a bit longer than usual for personal reasons (they were quite far away from Tokyo or Earthquake area).

LSI's own Joey Higuchi also landed today, so our entire team is back in Canada!  We are still extremely concerned about Japan as we have close friends and family members, but will continue to monitor and pray for the whole country.

LSI has made a significant contribution to Red Cross and we ask that everyone contribute in some form or shape to assist their recovery.

Thank you again for everyon'e prayers and support. We are grateful and appreciative of all the emails and phone calls received during the week.

Vancouver Greenbelt Service Kaizen

This week is also another busy week for our Greenbelt Vancouver Service group, which is working on process time reduction projects at First West Credit Union.

Our coach Andrew is leading the Greenbelt and says that "people are very engaged and energetic."  Tomorrow is the report out day and then they have a classroom time on Friday with our MBTI coach Hilda. It's going to be a busy week for them - but they are excited!

Toronto Greenbelt Kickoff Week

We are extremely excited to kick off our Toronto Greenbelt Operation this week! With 15 people involved, our Toronto Greenbelts are  entering an insightful Lean Journey with a superior guidance from our coach, Bob.  After an intensive introduction to Lean methodologies, our Greenbelts are getting ready to study Lean with hands-on experience. Good luck to all the Greenbelt students at the Kaizen Blitz for the next couple of days!

Congratulations Greenbelt Winter Grads!

 We are proud to graduate our 28 Greenbelts (Operations Program) in Vancouver!

Through various challenges and hard work, the Greenbelts have embarked on a special lean journey.

We would like to acknowledge the graduates for their commitment and dedication throughout the past 3 months.

May Lean become the key tool for each and every one of you to transform the world!

Up-to-date Information about Japan

 While CNN and other news organizations are doing a commendable job of providing updates about the Japan disaster, the most accurate and timely information can be found through NHK World Live streaming program.  This programming is translated into English just-in-time and therefore provides the most accurate picture of what is happening there. We continue to pray for Japan, its people, and its future.  We are encouraging everyone to contribute in some fashion to assist the disaster recovery.

NHK LIVE WOLRD

Toyota Tour Photo

Despite all of the challenges facing Japan, Toyota personnel who took us through their Motomachi plant sent us the group photo they took just a couple of hours before the earthquake.

We were extremely fortunate to have completed the entire Japan Lean program before the earthquake struck the country.

We are forever grateful for the safe return of our members and for the opportunity to experience Japan.  The quake hit Japan on our last industry tour, and the manager of Denso (largest supplier to Toyota,) continued on with the tour to complete the program.  The discipline and the resiliency of Japanese are incredible.

We will continue to pray for Japan. Please contribute in some form or shape.

JAPAN COMMENT

Just returned home, finally. Exhausted beyond imagination and filled with sadness, I continue to pray for Japan as they struggle to recover. It's difficult to hold back tears as I was leaving Japan. I've never gone through anything like this in my life. This is the time to be thankful for things that we have and take for granted. Embrace life, love everyone around you, and most of all, pray for the Japanese.

We want to thank everyone who supported us during this difficult and challenging time. We have almost the entire team now back in our home country, other than those who chose to stay there for personal reasons.

Japan is now experiencing different kind of a challenge, with shortages of power and food supply issue beginning to cripple the country. We pray that situation will improve.

David Chao

JAPAN UPDATE PARTICIPANTS

This just came in.... AC004 from Narita has just landed in Vancouver after many hours of delay. We can now report the status of all the Lean Tour participants who were travelling back from Japan.

With this update, everyone who was scheduled to fly back to North America after the end of the program has safely arrived either in the US or Canada.

Participants who had already made plans to stay in Japan longer, after the end of the program, are doing fine in southern Japan.

A few participants had to be diverted or rescheduled but will be returning shortly.

Thank you

JAPAN VIDEO UPDATE

A brief update created by my iphone tonight to give you a better sense of what is going on.  Live from Tokyo.

JAPAN NUCLEAR UPDATE

We have also received reports directly from Japanese news that the nuclear reactor leak is under control and not a wide-spread contamination issue as reported by North American media.  So while it's not completely out of the woods yet, it appears to be under control though the evacuation warning remains for those who are close to the reactors.

JAPAN FLIGHT UPDATE

We just received confirmation from our Canadian participants that they were finally able to board and take off out of Narita airport back to Canada.  So everyone who was on flight 004 to Vancouver just departed and onto Vancouver!

One person to Toronto flight also left though diverted through China.

We will continue to provide update.

Japan UPDATE

We are happy to report that most of our participants who were supposed to fly out today were able to get on the flights back to North America. There are some who are staying extra days and taking a vacation time. As far as we know, they are planning to stay as previously planned. Most of them are heading to Kyoto which is away from the earthquake zone and therefore safe.

LSI is communicating with them as much as possible.  We will continue providing updates throughout the weekend so please keep bookmark this page.

Thank you again for all of your emails and phone calls. We are saddened by the entire situation and continue to pray for quick recovery.

Japan UPDATE

Japan Update: thank you all for contacting us.  As I mentioned my team is safe in Nagoya but it's a logistic nightmare as we try to sort out cancelled flights and trains. We are very affected emotionally and spiritually but physically safe. We had aftershocks all night and nothing is normal. Slowly we are getting things in order and Japan is recovering.  Japan needs your prayers and support more now than ever.

The Japanese are resilient and patient. Many staff are working 24 hrs around the clock to serve customers. Our hotel staff didn't go home and have been working all night to help everyone.  Most people did not sleep last night as they were not able to go home, but other than the northern Japan area of Sendai the rest of Japan is safe.

Thank you for your concerns. We will continue to report updates through this blog and resume normal blogging after things go back to normal.

We are safe and sound, and our Executives and Blackbelts are positive and strong - we are all encouraged by the love and care of Japanese and how well they are taking care of each other.  This is a country that truly cares.

No one is getting upset or impatient.  They are still organized despite the disruptions - people are trying to resume normal activities again.

We do miss everyont back at home but we are very blessed to be safe and to be supported.

Please stay in touch.

David

Please pray for the Japanese

Our team is still here in Japan. Please pray for the Japanese. Everything is chaos right now, with trains cancelled, airport closed, and the city of Tokyo turned into rescue mode. People are sleeping in their offices and food is running out of grocery stores. A few hundred people are still missing from the Northern city where the earthquake and tsunami hit. We were blessed to be in southern part of Japan in Nagoya, where the impact was minimal.

We are not sure if we can fly back tomorrow but at the moment, we are just thankful to be safe.

We just got him by earthquake in Japan

Earthquake just hit Japan!! Our team is here in Japan and just got hit by the massive earthquake but our entire team was not affected and doing fine. Thank you all for your concerns.

The real secret why Japanese live so long

You want to know the real reason why Japanese have the highest life expectancy in the world?  Just take a look at the breakfast they eat, compared to ours.  Instead of sausages, they eat grilled fish; instead of fried potatoes they opt for broiled vegetables. Instead of bacon, they eat sauteed vegetables and tofu.

Nissan Oppama Car Factory

Here is the official factory information kit of the Oppama plant, which we visited today. It provides much information about this flagship factory.  Please click on the link below.

Nissan Oppama Info

Nissan Yokohama Engine Plant

Today, LSI Japan program participants visited the world-renowned Nissan Engine Plant in Yokohama.  In addition to producing award winning engines for a variety of cars, this plant also hand-produces the incredible engine for the Nissan GT-R high performance sports car.  Built inside a "clean room," the engine for GT-R is built by one operator from the beginning to the end, resulting in a precision product.  Take a look at this factory brochure to get full information about the plant:

Nissan Engine Factory Brochure

Lean Japan Tour - Visit to Nissan Factories

Today, the LSI team visited two Nissan plants:  Oppama car factory and Yokohama engine plant. Oppama is where the latest Nissan Leaf electric car is being built.

Though this document is not the most recent presentation, it provides incredible details about what Nissan has accomplished at the Oppama Plant here in Japan.  Already one of the best plants in the world, looking through the presentation provides us with an insight about what was accomplished.

Please take a look at the PDF file provided by Nissan:

Nisssan Oppama Presentation

Japan Lean Tour Day One Kickoff

LSI's Japan Lean Tour Program has officially started!  We are excited to report our first day of the program, which consisted of a half-day sightseeing to Tokyo Tower, followed by a supply chain/logistics lecture and visit to a software company.  A former Olympus supply chain executive Mr. Sakae gave us an insipiring talk about inventory system and we all learned a gerat deal.

Fruit is perfect in Japan

 
The Japanese are obsessed with perfection, and this even shows up in fruits. Take a look at David's short insight about Japanese fruit!

Japan Lean Tour Group arrives

Live from Japan!

Our Japan Lean Tour Group is beginning to arrive... they are jetlagged and tired but some of them had enough energy to go out for a simple meal. Destination? Japanese ramen shop!  Today is what we call "Day Zero", which simply means that tomorrow is the official "Day One"!

Ginza on Sunday

Ginza is one of the most glamorous cities in the world.  The streets become filled on Sunday with shoppers (mostly window shoppers) and tourists. Can you picture what's it like to stand in the middle of Ginza's busiest street? (Ginza 4th street).  Take a look at this uncut, unedited raw footage of Ginza 4th street on a busy Sunday! The music and sound you hear is from the actual footage....

Ginza in High Definition

Everything is miniaturized in Japan

Due to high density of the Japanese population, space is at premium.  As a result, everything is miniaturized here in Japan - even something as simple as a stapler.  Here's a short take on miniaturization:

Japan Lean Tour about to start

All About Japan

We thought that it would be interesting to know a bit about Japan as we welcome our Japan Lean Tour group:

Source: Wikipedia

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.

A major economic power, Japan has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth largest exporter and fifth largest importer. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains an extensive modern military force in self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan has the second lowest homicide (including attempted homicide) rate in the world. According to UN and WHO estimates, it has the highest life expectancy of any country and the third lowest infant mortality rate.

Counting down to Japan Lean Tour Kickoff

We are only one day away from kicking off our specutacular Japan Lean Tour program!  The guests are arriving this weekend and the program will officially begin on Monday.  But keep your eye on our blog as we will start talking about Japan Lean Tour from today.

Here's a photo of a quiet Saturday morning Tokyo, taken from our Japan Lean Tour hotel room.  As usual, our designated Royal Park hotel is beautifully maintained and everything is setup just right.

Japanese are not early risers as they prefer to stay up late, so it's amazingly quiet in the early morning but gets crazy a bit later on.

Tokyo Ginza area, Royal Park Hotel View 7am Saturday

Bologna, Italy

Participants in the upcoming Europe Lean Tour can look forward to visiting one of Italy’s gastronomic capitals, this spring.  Situated in the Emilia Romagna region, the city of Bologna, is often overlooked  in favor of Rome or Venice.  However a visit to this city of 400,000 is well worthwhile and one is unlikely to encounter the crowds, common in other larger Italian cities.

Sometimes referred to as la rossa because of its many red buildings, the area’s  markets, palazzo (palaces) and long porticoes are readily explored on foot.  Bologna also has the distinction of having the world’s oldest university which can trace its beginnings to 1088.  Interestingly, the city is sometimes referred to as “Red” because it was the first Italian city to elect a communist town council.  Not surprisingly, political views and opinions have always been important in this charming Italian city.

Outsiders sometimes struggle to define Bologna  but this is the region where pasta making is considered a work of art with tortellini, tagliatelle and lasagna to whet your appetite.  What other metropolis would draft a law to protect its handmade pasta from industrial imitations?  Be aware that you may stand corrected if you refer to certain plates of pasta with meat sauce as spaghetti Bolognese.  To the people of Bologna it is tagliatelle alla ragu.  The slow simmered hearty, ragu sauce pairs wonderfully with freshly made tagliatelle pasta.  Other gastronomic pleasures include parmiggiana reggiano, the undisputed king of cheeses, balsamic vinegar which has been made in Modena for centuries and air-cured prociutto  di Parma.  

 

Thanks to a thriving silk industry, in the Middle Ages, Bologna was one of the wealthiest cities in Europe.  As a show of their affluence, wealthy families built over 200 tall towers.  By the 14^th Century many of them  were gone.  Twenty remain today.   The thriving silk industry has also disappeared, replaced by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Ducati, all of which are close by.

LSI’s Europe Lean Tour participants will spend a couple of days in Bologna – enough time to visit the Ducati and Lamborghini plants, enjoy a hearty meal of tagliatelle al ragu and a glass of the regoin’s well-known Lambrusco wine.    Ahhh . . . . la dolce vita!

Please note that if you are interested in joining us as part of the once-in-a-life Europe Lean Tour, there is only one spot left for the May event - please contact our office at 604-264-1000 for further questions.

Calgary Greenbelt module 2 is in full swing!

Calgary Greenbelt module 2 is in full swing!

Our Greenbelt class of winter 2011 is exactly halfway through their Greenbelt Certification program. We have our executive coach Andrew McFadyen currently teaching the cycle time reduction kaizen and will finish up this Friday.  They will learn about MBTI today from Bob Low and Hilda Henry, and then will take a bit of break before they come back for module 3.

Great class so far!