TPS is more than a management model. It should start with its philosophy.
Yamazaki Tetsuya, who always offers us a different perspective and reflects the Kaizen philosophy in every aspect of his life, learned from Taiichi Ohno not only the techniques of TPS, but also the way of thinking, and he has become a strong practitioner of this thinking over the years. According to Yamazaki, in order for management to be successful in implementing Lean transformation, the following principles must first be adopted. Let's examine these principles below, which are a compass for every manager.
Kaizen should be based on need.
Kaizen should be believed to eliminate problems and bring new gains. Since kaizen is the most effective tool for the development of the company, it should always be needed and applied especially in the field.
The goal of "Capturing the Ideal" must not be abandoned.
Yesterday's success should not be considered success for today. Once the ideal state has been reached, it is now a status quo. Therefore, the conditions of the new status quo should not be accepted, and a better one should always be sought.
The struggle is not just to "do what we can" but to do what "must" be done.
Never give up in the face of challenges. Develop your problem-solving skills and combativeness by challenging the difficult. Spread this mindset to each team member.
You must devote yourself to Genchi Genbutsu.
There is no other place with as many problems as the production site. This is what makes it enjoyable. Since the problem is in the field, the actions should be in the field. Do not try to solve problems at the desk. Try to solve problems as a team together with the production staff.
See for yourself and kaizen human - product - equipment factors at Gemba
Implement daily field management. Always try to be present in production and observe. See the behavior of operators, machine problems with your own eyes and identify waste. Your Kaizens will yield results more quickly.
Catch the root cause by asking "5 Times Why".
Every problem has an underlying root cause. Getting to this root cause is not difficult. Problems
If you catch the causes lined up against each other, you can easily reach the root cause. Teach your methods to reach the root cause to your field employees. After a while, field employees will come to you to suggest actions, not to report problems.
First action, implementation is essential.
Don't worry about where to start the action. Roll up your sleeves and take action. The important thing is that the effort is visible. If a person starts a struggle, he or she will have the support he or she needs.
Kaizen results in new ideas.
The new problems you will encounter while performing kaizen and the steps you will take to maintain the current situation after kaizen will offer you new ideas with new methods. Once you have reached the ideal state, standardize that ideal. The standardized ideal state is now your new current state.
Kaizen is not done slowly, but quickly and quickly.
The more time you waste in Kaizen implementation, the later you will reach the result. This undermines the belief in kaizen in your team and business organization. For this, put your plans into practice immediately and check the results with the plans you have made.
Rather than spending a long time trying to get it right, it's better to immediately switch to the app that will satisfy the demand and start experimenting.
As long as problems exist, waste in the process will continue to exist. Kaizen actions should be taken in two types. "temporary actions and permanent actions". Try to achieve the result with temporary actions first until the waste is eliminated with permanent action. In order for this result not to be temporary, take permanent actions immediately, do not waste time.
Operation kaizen is superior to equipment kaizen.
For machine efficiency, don't just look for problems on the machine. Examine the whole process. Follow the path of value for efficiency and do not limit kaizen only to machines. Especially examine the human and method dimensions.
Occupational safety and quality must be considered paramount.
Focus on the quality of the process rather than the quality of the product. Build a safe process for quality process management. Occupational safety and employee motivation are very important for the quality of the process, i.e. on-site quality. Safety activities are the most important activities that improve teamwork. Use lean approaches to occupational safety. Teach field management by teaching these techniques to your team.
Respect for People
"Respect" is one of the two main topics of the "Toyota Way", which is now well known to everyone who follows TPS activities. Respect for the employee, respect for the employer, and respect for the customer that allows us to exist as a business. Especially since field workers undertake the most difficult part of the work, managers and office workers should be in the mindset of relaxing and facilitating the work of field workers. Never forget that you are a team and that this team consists of psychological structures, that is, people.
