Reading: Ohno Naiichi, the founder of the famous Toyota production method, was described by the Japanese as “the father of the Japanese resurrection”, “the godfather of production management” and “the sages who wear clothes.” Ohno Naiichi believes: “No one likes to just screw themselves. Their work remains the same. They just obey orders and do not know why they are busy. What Toyota is doing is very simple. It is the space that really gives employees thought and guides their wisdom. The time given to the company is a waste if it does not use its wisdom properly.” Track Production
1
Observe the production site carefully
The young Toyota employee C, who thought that the improvement work was done very well, went to Mr. Ohno and reported, “I have done my job better.”
After Mr. Ohno did not speak, he came to the production site with him. After a while, Mr. Ohno pointed to a lathe and said, “Go there and draw a circle.” Track Production
C found it strange that he drew a small circle on the lathe.
“So small circles can stop people! Repaint!”
C quickly rewrote the circle again, and then Mr. Ohno only said “Stand in the circle to observe the production site carefully” and turned away.
Mr. Ohno’s order has never been rebutted. Although he does not understand the reason, C can only obediently obey.
At noon, C couldn’t help but want to go to the toilet, so he stepped out of the circle. However, I did not expect bad luck, but was found by Mr. Ohno who passed by.
“Why go out!”
“Just wanted to go to the toilet…” “Stand after the lunch and continue to stand here. When you go out, you must first say hello to the next person.”
After that, Mr. Ohno walked away again. C feels very helpless, but can only stand up to the evening honestly. As for observing what and why he was observing, he did not think too much. He just stood there staring. Track Production
In the evening, Mr. Ohno came and asked, “Did you find any problems?”
“Not yet…” C can only respond timidly and truthfully.
Mr. Ohno thought for a moment and said: “You can get off work today and continue to stand here tomorrow.”
C really wanted to ask what was to be observed, but when he thought of Mr. Ohno, he would say, “Think yourself,” so the words came back to him.
The next morning, C again stood in the circle. This time, he seemed to have found some problems, but as to what it was, he was not sure.
At noon, Mr. Ohno walked over again. Track Production
“Is it a problem?”
“Yes, but it seems that I don’t know exactly what the problem is.”
C still answered it honestly. This time, Mr. Ohno pointed to the production site and said, “Look at the working methods of the workers. You say ‘I have completed improvement’, but your improvement has made them less efficient. Now that you have found a problem, hurry up. Try to solve it.” Lean Production Promotion Center.
Upon hearing these words, C did feel the problem. So he hurried to find the workers at the scene to talk about their opinions and then actively solve them.
C thought he had completed the improvement, but he did not observe the improvement. Although Mr. Ohno saw this problem at a glance, he did not directly point it out. Instead, he let him stand in the circle and observe it.
A day and a half to observe the scene, this experience will certainly be unforgettable for C, and has a far-reaching impact on future work.
2
Pay attention to the result of improvement
A manufacturer invited Mr. Ohno to visit the guide. Mr. Ohno asked the accompanying person accompanying him: “How long does this operation take?”
“About 15 minutes.” The staff generally do not understand the scene, so just answer it. However, I did not expect Mr. Ohno to stop and stand there watching. After 15 minutes, the assignment still did not end. So he said to the entourage: “It does not seem to be over yet. Because there is a lot of waste in the working methods that delays the time, so improve it!” Track Production
3
Often go deep into the scene, observe carefully, find problems, and then find the real reason
Many times, I also reported to Mr. Ohno that “Improvements have been completed.” But I was always asked back: “Can the results stand the test?” Mr. Ohno always believed that the site should be treated as a blank sheet. All problems were Go to the site to find the answer.
The founder of the Toyota Consortium, Toyota Sakichi, also visited the skilled technicians many times in order to invent the automatic loom. The same applies to Mr. Ohno. The improvement must be based on a full understanding of the site, so he always said to me and the people around me: “I often go to the scene to observe what I should do and what I should improve.”
Observing the scene and understanding the scene is very simple. Actually, it is not so easy to really implement the problems on the scene and how to improve them. Only by discovering problems can we use our own knowledge and experience to solve them. Therefore, finding problems is crucial for improvement. Be sure to observe carefully and see the essence of the problem. In the process of repeating this work, improvements have naturally been achieved.
“View,” “observe,” and “scrutinize,” training at any time to fully understand the ability of the scene, this is Toyota’s lean production methods.
To avoid emergency response, the emergency is only a temporary perfunctory. Track Production
4
Did you take countermeasures?
The employee who had joined Toyota for five years had just joined the team that improved the production efficiency of the new model, and was also in direct contact with Mr. Ohno for the first time. Although I had heard that Mr. Ohno’s sternness had reached a level of terror, he was actually shocked by his dedication and rigor after his actual work.
Mr. Ohno ordered him to go to a part manufacturer to guide the use of kanbans (subpoenas used in production and handling).
Although that part manufacturer also adopted the kanban method, due to the fact that it is not accustomed to using the method, it always causes the loss of kanban.
If you do not see a kanban, you cannot start production. This is the basic principle. The purpose is to completely prevent waste in production and processing.
However, the kanbans there are always lost, and the principle must be followed, so this has caused great trouble for parts manufacturers and Toyota.
In an emergency, D is always adding a kanban. This is very dangerous. In the event that the missing kanban is found, it means that there will be two orders and the output will double, which will result in excess inventory wastage. Track Production
However, in order to not influence the on-time supply of parts, the younger D still chose to increase the kanban method.
Mr. Ohno was very angry after knowing this thing and shouted, “Why not look for the missing signboard, whoever made you your own idea! Go get the board back!”
D looked down at the factory for more than an hour and did not find it. He returned to report to Mr. Ohno and said, “Nothing was found.” Lean Production Promotion Center.
Who knows that Mr. Ohno shouted angrily again: “I only found an hour to tell me I did not find!”
D only went back in disgrace, but still found nothing. D thinks that since he has been looking for such a long time, if he continues to look for it, he may be criticized by Mr. Ohno for not being efficient, so he rushes back and reports: “I have been looking for a long time carefully, but I still haven’t found it. ”
This time, Mr. Ohno said gently: “You said you didn’t find it, but did you think about why you can’t find it?”
In a word, D asked to bow his head. Mr. Ohno said: “It’s actually very simple. You always look for what you think you will have.”
A word awoke D. Indeed, he was only looking for what he thought might be possible, but he did not find those neglected corners, so he could not always find it. So he returned to the scene and suddenly found a signboard under the parts box when he almost wanted to give up.
Looking at the other parts bins it was discovered that the original kanban was under the box. After statistics, he found that it coincided with the number of lost kanbans.
D was very happy. He hurried to report, but Mr. Ohno’s reply was not “doing a good job”, but “have to think of a solution.” Track Production
5
Questions repeated five times
D’s work is certainly not as simple as looking for a kanban. Mr. Ohno asked him to investigate the causes of kanban loss, find ways to improve it, and prevent the recurrence of problems.
After investigation, D found that the kanban attached to the box was stuck under the box because of the large amount of oil in the box. So he proposed to put a kanban on the side of the box. Since then, Kanban has never been lost, and the kanban method has been thoroughly implemented there.
Do not use emergency replenishment such as kanban. Instead, think thoroughly about why you are lost and try to solve it. From this matter, D learns two levels of content.
(1) Ask questions repeatedly and ask five times
Why is it simple to say it repeatedly five times? In the actual case just now, D’s most basic “Why is it lost?” Did not even think about it. Of course, he would not get the desired result.
Among Toyota’s employees, it is not uncommon for Mr. Ohno to spend several days or even months trying to find the cause of the problem. If you have asked five times why you haven’t found the answer, then you have to continue asking questions for the sixth and seventh times.
Sometimes, it may only be asked why two or three would hit the wall, but there are also many cases where the real answer is found. If the real reason is not found, the same problem will happen again, and even cause more trouble, so it must be completely implemented.
(2) Repair and Repair
I was also questioned by Mr. Ohno for the difference between repairs and repairs. Track Production
In the event of a failure, if only the parts were replaced and emergency treatment was performed without looking for the root cause of the problem, it could only be regarded as repair. Repair means to find the real reason to avoid the same problem from happening again.
The Toyota Way requires a fundamental solution to the problem and prevents the accident from happening again. This way of thinking is not only for machines, it is the same for all problems. To do thorough repairs, only in this way can a strong competitiveness be formed.
At Toyota, we will repeatedly ask why we are trying to find the real cause of the problem, which must be thoroughly implemented in our work. In other words, only this attitude of breaking the casserole in the end can get the job done.
6
“Do your best” instead of “do your best” and work hard until the last moment
In the past, there were “three thousandths failure rates” in the quality management field. In other words, for every 1,000 products produced, about 3 inferior products can be allowed to appear, even if it is qualified. Of course, today’s situation has greatly improved. Track Production
However, although the basic unit has now been raised to 10,000, 100,000 or even 1 million, people still ingrainedly believe that: “As long as it is production and processing, there will be a certain degree of substandard products.”
As mentioned in the previous chapters, Mr. Ohno has to fundamentally achieve a zero rate of nonconformity and make every effort to avoid any exceptions.
When Mr. Ohno was the director of the Shangxiang factory, technical instructor E was responsible for providing nuts, clamps, and other parts to the body assembly shop. One day, I didn’t know which process had a problem and suddenly there were a lot of spare parts.
E hurriedly called Mr. Ohno over. Mr. Ohno patrolled the lap and pointed to those accessories to shout to E: “What’s going on!”
“This is the remaining fixture that has just returned.”
“Why will return!”
“This… is not yet clear.”
“It’s not clear, of course, if you don’t investigate! There must have been a problem. Please investigate!”
This was the first time E was directly criticized by Mr. Ohno. Track Production
As a technical instructor, the reason for investigating a non-conformity problem is indeed its own division of work. However, in this case, there are many problems that may occur, and many of them are not in the field of their own responsibility. If you investigate one by one, then communicate with other workshops. E was young at the time, so it felt very stressful. In fact, he was thinking that there was a small problem that really didn’t matter. It was not necessary to bother to investigate. However, Mr. Ohno never allowed it to do so. Lean Production Promotion Center.
No way, E had to start the relevant investigation. The situation is certainly not that simple. Only when the failure occurs can the problem be discovered, so it is necessary to carefully observe each step of the assembly work.
E carefully watched for two days, or did not find the reason. He decided to give up, and then ran to Mr. Ohno and said: “I have tried hard for two days, but no problems have been found.” He thought that Mr. Ohno might say “That’s the way to do it first.” The unexpected answer was “continue.” Look until you find the problem.”
On the third day, E finally found a problem in the mechanical workshop. Since this is not his area of responsibility, he quickly called the person in charge over there to help improve.
Mr. Ohno’s “scrutiny” requires the technician to spend a full three days, which is enough to see his strict quality requirements. And the idea of “no way” to give up is absolutely not acceptable to Mr. Ohno.
7
Don’t leave yourself an exception
Mr. Ohno often said to us: “Don’t think that the three-thousandths disqualification rate is normal, we must do everything we can to find all the exceptions.” Indeed, in the process of finding exceptions one by one, the failure rate will tend to zero The quality of the production line will also increase.
This Toyota-style quality management concept actually started when Mr. Sakichi was born.
The automatic weaving machine invented by Mr. Sakichi Toyota will automatically stop when the thread breaks. This is a way to stop the appearance of inferior products, and it is also an idea that “low reject rate” is absolutely not allowed to appear in inferior products.
Later, Mr. Ohno extended the idea from the machine to the person. If there is an abnormality, we must stop all machines and place inferior products in places where everyone can see them. Everyone should think together about the solution.
The purpose of this approach is to find the real cause of the failure and solve the problem thoroughly. Track Production
The failures mentioned here refer to failures of three-thousandths, three-thousand-thousandths, or even three-hundredths. In short, Mr. Ohno does not allow any exceptions. What problems arise must be solved as completely as E.
In this regard, President Zhang Fujifu said the following: “In the past, Mr. Ohno always asked us very strictly, but many people, including myself, did not understand it. We all thought that the failure rate of three thousandths was normal. It is not necessary to care too much, but Mr. Ohno always insists that “three out of three substandards is already a very serious problem.” At the time, our output was several hundred units per day, that is, three thousandths of Failure rate to calculate Track Production