- Written by tour participant - John Young, Marvin Engineering
To
say that an organization, any organization of any size, can embrace and
practice lean and continuous improvement is, what I have come to recognize
through observation, a true understatement. The fact is, the organization can
be as small as a corner convenient store to a whole country.
I
started the Japan Executive Benchmarking Tour with the expectation of observing
lean best practices at major manufacturing companies, but did not realize that
I also observed that every day life in Japan has some elements of lean being
practiced.
A great example is something as normal as meal service. Japanese Set Meals
follow a very standardized process of how the courses were brought out, and
every server knows what is coming up next and what needs to be cleared away.
And the dishes were served on standardized plates or containers that are just
the right size for the amount of food being presented. To itself, this can be
implemented quite easily, but to serve a group of 30 plus people a ten course
meal in under one hour without having to rush your customer through the meal is
very difficult to successfully pull off without discipline in executing to a
standardized process, using previously optimized sets of tools.
This brings me back to the visit to Nissan, where I discovered that it was
mandatory for all 5th graders to go on field trips associated with some type of
industrial base. They are trained early in their learning development to see
what the best of lean practice looks like. In fact, it seems silly that we took
the same route as the kids, stopped at the same information panel boards,
played with the same hands-on displays, and most likely are being introduced to
the same lean concepts and seeing them in action.
The biggest difference is that we are engaged in lean to enhance our
businesses, whereas they are learning them so they can hopefully continue to
apply these concepts through out their daily lives. I would venture to say
that, by the time grade school is over, many Japanese youths have similar level
of understanding of lean concepts as white/green belts we work so hard to
attain.
A very typical misconception for companies considering or starting lean and
continuous improvement journey is that the best practices cannot be fully
realized because our business is, for example, high mix and low volume, and
lean is most beneficial for high volume production.
While it may be easier to implement lean when product configuration is stagnant
and change-overs are minimal, it is absolutely possible to apply lean to a high
mix low volume industry. This was observed at Daiwa House, where the products
are custom build homes constructed from pre-fabricated modules. While it is
true that the basically elements of the modules are practically the same,
the overall final product delivered to the customer differ quite significantly
But these customization did not translate to a significant increase to physical
infrastructure or personnel. They are achieved through carefully thought out
product design and manufacturing planning, focusing on the needs of the
customer at all stages of the business process, continuously maximizing the
potential of existing physical and talent resources, all critical keys for
success in this product type and environment. And over time, a standardized set
of processes and discipline can be set up to flow in any type of changes the
customers are looking for at anytime, regardless of the products being
produced.
The days of one-size-fits-all is rapidly disappearing as our day-to-day lives
become increasingly and highly individualized. Industries are being pressured
internally and externally to fulfill ever-changing demands at an accelerated
rate in order to survive. While well-thought out and well practiced
standardized process can help a company survive, lean practices and continuous
improvement will help an entity thrive, whether you are the corner convenient
store or a mega corporation.
