In the last decade, we saw the DotCom bubble burst and the US housing and financial market collapse, triggering lengthy recessions. Somewhere in-between the good times and the bad, North Americans realized they have to make certain changes in lifestyle; many turned away from the gas-guzzling cars and bought smaller cars, ones that are more reliable, better in quality, and more fuel-efficient. Some turned to the Japanese automakers.
When Toyota entered the North American market in 1984, they brought in more than just Japanese cars, machines, and robots; they also brought in a management system that eventually allowed the company to oust General Motors as world’s #1 automaker in 2008. There is no coincidence in that and Japanese firms’ strong emphasis on quality, detail, and teamwork, of which North American firms fare poorly.
I spent the last few weeks working as a blue collar operating machines on the assembly line of a Japanese-owned factory. Comparing my experiences here with that of working for a North American factory, I notice the subtleties in management practises that might have altered the fate of the companies. Below is an email from the general manager of one of the largest Canadian manufacturer based in Ontario. The letter is sent out to all supervisors-and-above employees to prepare for their Japanese clients’ visit.
AS part of long term planning and securing new business with high demand, but stable and loyal customers, every COMPANY X employee should raise their performance level in every category including 5S. On June 21st we will have COMPANY J in our plant, and then on June 28th COMPANY K, one of the world leaders in transmission manufacturing and assembly, from Japan, will stop by in their attempt to find machining source for different transmission components.
We want to present COMPANY X in the best possible way.
To make it successful we must:
1. Clean our work area and maintain it spotless.
2. Fix as many leaks as possible.
3. Stop leaving footprints everywhere
4. Make sure that visual aids are available and kept in working order.
5. Gauge tables must be very clean at any given time.
6. Every part must be properly tagged and stored on proper location.
7. Chip bins, outside/inside dunnage , should be placed in assigned areas.
8. Tire marks, chips on the floor, oil and coolant in aisle way should be cleaned and areas maintain such
9. Documentation should be up to date i.e. operator instructions, ODS, gauge instructions, Process specifications etc.
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
General Manager
From this email, notice the Japanese management’s attention on details. They are not concerned with a company’s quality reports, rather, they assess a company’s corporate practice through littlest things like footprints on the floor.
My experiences working for an Ontario-based Japanese-managed factory agree with the conditions described in the General Manager’s keynotes above. I could not find a single item misplaced at any given time in the work area. Everything at our workstations are properly labeled and organized that it seemed “cute” at first. When it comes to quality, Japanese manufacturers adopted a “just in time” system that allow management to trace every product manufactured to its maker, down to within half-hour of its production. The management study these records constantly to improve quality and efficiency through optimization calculus. Moreover, I was surprised by the level of automation at Japanese factories. They implemented sensors everywhere to eliminate human error. The company does not tolerate quality issues; if a part is accidentally scratched or dropped onto the floor, it is immediately scrapped. They follow the “5S” (sort, straighten, shine, systemize, sustain) methodology to heart. Because they are so attentive to details, Japanese firms achieve quality at every level of production.
Similar system is in place at the North American manufacturer I worked at, but it is never successfully enforced. We talked about quality, but never applied the principle to reality. Faulty parts are shipped anyways despite our knowledge of them. Had this happened in the Japanese factory, we would’ve held a plant-wide lecture on why quality matters. This is a matter of corporate principle. Over time, these organizational problems lead to catastrophic outcomes the way a butterfly creates a hurricane.
Lastly, we have to talk about corporate values. In the business world, corporate values and management abilities set competitive and noncompetitive manufacturers apart. The Japanese management found a way to indoctrinate its core values in each and every worker. When the Japanese top managers walk the floor and talk to assembly line workers, they ask not about technical questions, but how their family is, how their children are doing, whether they will are aware of the dates for the next company barbeque or golf tournament. The same is not true for North American manufacturer. Floor workers are often questioned on what they are doing. A colleague of my was fired on the spot when he failed to answer a technical question.
I know I’ve made the fallacy of sweeping generalization. But I do find merit in looking at the little things. Perhaps this is because this whole “Japanese-management” has gotten into me. I’ve yet to decide whether this is a good thing or not!
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| One of my work stations |
