To really understand lean manufacturing, you need to have Eastern mysticism in your heart -- and a Japanese dictionary by your side.
The reason: The underlying concepts were developed, honed and mastered over the last half century by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., whose much-emulated, never-duplicated production system has lately helped it easily outdistance U.S. car makers in the all-important measures of revenue growth and profitability.
Lean followers are well aware of the concepts of Kanbans (demand signal visibility) and Kaizen (continuous business process improvement). What's next? Try Kaikaku, or radical improvement of any activity by removing waste, a term evangelized by lean manufacturing consultant and author Norman Bodek in his latest book, "Kaikaku The Power and Magic of Lean" (PCS Press, 2004).
Bodek, a consultant with Lean Affiliates of Dallas, convincingly presented his "10 Commandments of Kaikaku" at the APICS conference recently held in Kansas City, MO, arguing that manufacturers seeking leaner pastures should use Kaikaku to inform Kaizen's continuous improvements.
Bodek's philosophy reeks of common sense, and has been well received, in this case by thunderous applause from attendees. "Throw out the traditional concepts of manufacturing methods," Bodek told his operations-minded audience, reciting the first of Kaikak's 10 Commandments. "Correct mistakes the moment they are found" (number five); "Problems give you a chance to use your brains" (number seven); "Ten person's ideas are better than one person's knowledge" (number nine).
Bodek borrows heavily from Toyota's "Thinking Production System," whose continuous improvement pillars are supported by just-in-time and waste-reduction manufacturing principles as well as respect for people (Jidoka), teamwork and "Quick and Easy Kaizen," the essence of his message.
Taking a consultative tone, Bodek says Quick and Easy Kaizen requires companies to seriously engage employees in continuous improvement endeavors. This starts with asking them to submit two ideas a month in writing focused on making their work easier and/or improving their skills as well as their work environment. The ultimate aim: To enable cost reductions as well as quality, safety and customer service enhancements.
One company profiting from Quick and Easy Kaizen is Technicolor, whose CD and DVD packaging business is already seeing significant process improvements to the tune of $8 million in annual cost savings. When the program began in 2001, 1,800 employees submitted 250 ideas, 113 of which were implemented. Last year, the same headcount turned in 26,000 ideas, of which 16,000 were followed. "All this, without hiring one extra person," Bodek exclaimed.
No idea is too small, he said. Take a recommendation put forth by a Technicolor shipping clerk to improve the pick, pack and ship process. By moving huge bubble wrap rolls from the floor to an eye-level dispenser, unnecessary bending and a potentially unsafe work condition were eliminated, Bodek noted. The employee then had a major revelation: Replace costly bubble wrap with less expensive, industrial strength plastic wrap. These two ideas alone saved the company in excess of $100,000 annually, Bodek revealed.
It's this type of employee empowerment, complemented with team thinking, that has generated 1.5 million ideas that save Toyota $300 million annually, Bodek writes in a newsletter. Employee-guided plant floor innovation combined with savvy design and packaging, just-in-time inventory management and excellence of execution powers Toyota's ability to deliver price-competitive, quality vehicles, even while the company shifts more and more of its production to the cost-disadvantaged U.S.
One irony in all this: When Toyota's cars made their U.S. debut in 1957, General Motors' chairman disparaged them as "junk," Bodek recalled. "There's nothing to worry about with Japan," Bodek quoted the then-chairman as saying. Boy, have times changed, thanks to Easy Kaizen guided by Kaikaku!
This article was repurposed from the December 2005 issue of Managing Automation magazine.