Wednesday, March 19, 2008

4P of Toyota Talent

Toyota Talent really breaks new ground, rather than re-hashing things we've all read before. Unless you have a strong background in the Training Within Industry methodology, much of the book will be an eye opener, giving you approaches and tools that can be implemented immediately. Toyota Talent is written more along the lines of the Fieldbook, in the sense that the authors give you specifics that can be implemented, rather than just a description of Toyota's system.If you're an active lean change agent (as a line manager or a consultant), this book is a must read. The book demystifies the world of Standardized Work and breaks it down into something concrete and practical. The book not only explains how to develop and implement a standardized work system, it also (in typical Toyota style), explains much of the "why" -- why do we implement standardized work?
The book sets a tone of not standardizing for the sake of standardizing. The methodology focuses on figuring out what matters, and doing so by getting input from the value adding employees. Focusing on safety and quality is a key part of Toyota Talent's methodology. The book gives a method for breaking down the work content of existing jobs, using highly repetitive manufacturing examples as well as a highly variable healthcare environment (a nurse in a hospital). The method is presented in a way that DOES make sense for both environments, which might be a surprise to many readers.Toyota Talent covers the entire standardized work process:
Deciding what to standardize
Breaking work content down and documenting standardized work
How to train in a highly effective mannerThe book builds upon the Training Within Industry methodology, as written about in other books . But, Toyota Talent explains how Toyota built upon the TWI framework to create something uniquely Toyota, but adaptable to almost any environment.Even with my caveats (and maybe my cynicism about executive attention spans), I highly recommend Toyota Talent. It carves out a very unique, and helpful, place in the lean literature. It's a very readable book, written in a down to earth and practical style.Have you also read the book? What did you think? What did you find to be helpful?
Toyota first caught the world’s attention in the 1980s when consumers started noticing that Toyota cars lasted longer and required fewer repairs than American cars. Today, the company is the world’s most profitable car manufacturer, consistently producing high-quality cars using fewer man hours and less on-hand inventories. To this day, Toyota continues to raise the bar for manufacturing, production development and process excellence.
The Toyota Way explains the management principle and business philosophy behind Toyota’s success. It narrates Toyota’s approach to Lean Production (known as the Toyota Production System) and the 14 principles that drive Toyota towards quality and excellence. The book also explains how you can adopt the same principles to improve your business processes, while cutting down on operations and production costs.
The World Class Power of the Toyota Way
The Toyota Way: Using Operational Excellence as a Strategic Weapon
The Toyota Production System (TPS) and Lean Production
Toyota invented Lean Production in the 1940s and 50s. The company focused on eliminating wasted time and material from every step of the production process (from raw materials to finished goods).
The result was a fast and flexible process that gives the customers what they want, when they want it, at the highest quality and most affordable cost. Toyota improved production by:

> Eliminating wasted time and resources.
> Building quality into workplace systems
> Finding low-cost and yet reliable alternatives to expensive new technology.
> Perfecting business processes.
> Building a learning culture for continuous improvement.


The “4P” model of the Toyota Way

  1. Phylosophy ; Toyota has long term thinking Long-term goal should supersede short-term decision making or goals.
    Develop, work, grow and align the company towards a common goal that is bigger than making money. Your philosophical mission is and should be the foundation of all your other principles.
    Toyota is aligned around satisfying the customer. It believes that a satisfied customer comes back and gives more business through referrals. It generates value for the customer, the society and the economy.One of the keys to success of Toyota is that it lives by the philosophy of self reliance and a “let’s do it ourselves” attitude. This can be best illustrated when it ventured into the luxury car industry.
  2. Process ; the right process will get the right results and strong with kaizen mindset for perfection.
  3. People ; developing your people and partner and organization
  4. Problem Solving ; everybody as a good problem solver and root cause analysis for continuous learning.