The Toyota approach is about more than just tools and technology. The Tao of Toyota Principles Review

Don't lose it. Subscribe and receive a link to the article in your email.

The success achieved by Toyota has been the reason for the genuine interest of businessmen and managers from all over the world for several decades. The quality of Toyota cars has become an example that the leaders of the global automobile industry look up to, which is why everyone who wants to improve the quality of their goods and services at some point in time begins to get acquainted with the experience of this company.

In the book “The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles of the World's Leading Company,” Jeffrey Liker takes readers into the roots of the success of the Toyota brand, analyzing the business philosophy of this corporation, which consists of 14 basic principles of management discovered by him. The foundation of the Toyota Way is a unique approach to employees, which includes education, training and development.

The book will be of interest to managers, entrepreneurs, as well as teachers of economic universities and their students.

About Jeffrey Liker

Jeffrey Liker is a professor of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan, a recipient of more than a dozen Shingo awards for research excellence, president of Liker Lean Advisors and principal of Optiprise Inc., a member of the Association for Industrial Excellence Hall of Fame, and the author of several dozens of articles and eight books on the topic of achieving and improving the quality and effectiveness of organizations. Liker's clients include companies such as Fujitsu Technical Services, Harley Davidson, Caterpillar, Hertz and others.

For more information, you can visit the author's website "Optiprise.com".

About the book “The Toyota Way: 14 principles of management of the world’s leading company”

The book consists of a preface, an introduction, three large parts divided into sections and chapters, and lists of used and recommended literature.

Below we invite you to familiarize yourself with a brief description of each of the Toyota companies discussed in the book by Jeffrey Liker. But keep in mind that the description of the principles begins only with the second part. From the first you will learn many interesting and undoubtedly important facts from the history of the Toyota Corporation, and from the third you will learn how to apply the Toyota Way in your own organization.

Principle 1: Make short-term decisions with a long-term perspective, even if it comes at the expense of short-term financial goals.

It needs to be approached systematically and strategically. It is necessary to realize your place in the history of the organization and strive to bring it to a higher level, improving and rebuilding it, achieving the main goal, which is more important than making a profit.

Principle 2: Continuous Flow Process Helps Identify Problems

The technological process needs to be restructured in such a way that a continuous flow is formed that guarantees added value. There must also be good communication between people and processes so that any problems can be identified immediately. All this should become part of the organization's culture.

Principle 3: Use a pull system to avoid overproduction

It is important to ensure that the internal consumer receiving your work receives what he needs in the required quantity and at the required time. The stock of products must be replenished, guided by the measure of its consumption. Work in progress should be kept to a minimum, as should stockpiling of inventory.

Principle 4. Distribute the amount of work evenly: work like a tortoise, not like a hare

One of the conditions for the success of lean manufacturing is the elimination of waste. Two other conditions are the elimination of overload of equipment and employees and the normalization of uneven production schedules. The load should be distributed evenly in all directions.

Principle 5: Make stopping production to solve problems part of the production culture when quality requires it.

The value of your offering is determined by quality, and it should be enhanced and secured by any means available. Design equipment that can independently detect problems and stop working when they are detected. Make sure your organization has a support system that will be ready to quickly resolve problems.

Principle 6. Standard tasks are the basis for continuous improvement and delegation of authority to employees

Adopt work methods that are consistent and repeatable so you can predict the outcome of your work, improve consistency, and ensure consistent output. This is the basis of flow and pull. It is important to record the knowledge accumulated about the work process, and standardize the most effective ones. As a result, it will become possible to transfer experience from employee to employee.

Principle 7. Use visual inspection so that no problem goes unnoticed.

It is important to use simple visual aids to help employees quickly determine whether they are following or deviating from a standard. If a computer monitor distracts an employee from the work area, then it is better not to use it. It would be good to reduce the volume of reports to one sheet, and it does not matter what the significance of these reports is.

Principle 8. Use only reliable, proven technology

The purpose of technology is to help people, not replace them. It makes much more sense to use proven technology instead of untested innovation. Any new technology must be tested in real-world conditions. Technology that goes against the culture of the organization should be rejected or changed.

Principle 9. Develop leaders who thoroughly know their business, profess the company’s philosophy and can teach this to others

Instead of buying leaders from outside the company, it is much better to develop your own. is not only the fulfillment of assigned tasks and mastery of communication skills, but also the professing of a corporate philosophy and an exemplary attitude to business. Day-to-day functions must be mastered by the leader at the highest level.

Principle 10: Develop exceptional people and build teams that embrace the company philosophy

Strive to create a stable and strong work culture that is rooted in lasting values and beliefs that are shared and accepted by all. Develop outstanding people and teams to operate in accordance with the corporate philosophy. Employees must work as a team to achieve a common goal.

Principle 11: Respect your partners and suppliers, challenge them and help them improve.

Every partner and supplier should feel that you respect them. Try to treat them as equal partners and create conditions for them that will stimulate their development and growth. It is also necessary to set difficult tasks for them and provide assistance in solving them.

Principle 12. To understand the situation, you need to see everything with your own eyes

In the process of solving problems and improving processes, you must see with your own eyes what is happening and see for yourself, so as not to build theories based on information from third-party sources. All reasoning should be based on information that you have verified yourself.

Principle 13. Make a decision slowly, based on consensus, after weighing all possible options; when implementing it, do not hesitate

Until all alternatives have been weighed, no definite decision should be made, but when it does, it is necessary to act carefully, but without delay. Use a collaborative process to discuss problems and solutions that involves everyone, allowing all ideas to be considered and consensus reached. Although this process can be time-consuming, it is very effective.

Principle 14: Become a learning institution through relentless self-reflection and continuous improvement.

When the process stabilizes, you need to immediately apply improvement tools to identify the causes of unproductive work. It is necessary to create a process that will require virtually no inventory, which will help determine the loss of resources and time. When the main stages of the work have been completed and the process is over, it is necessary to analyze the shortcomings and develop measures to prevent the mistakes from happening again.

Brief conclusion

In your work, you can use only some of the principles of the Toyota Way, thanks to which you can increase the efficiency of the company for a certain period of time, but such results will be short-term. But if you follow all the principles discussed, you will certainly achieve serious competitive advantages and, as a result, enormous success.

MAKE MANAGEMENT DECISIONS WITH A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE, EVEN IF IT CAUSES DAMAGE TO YOUR SHORT-TERM FINANCIAL GOALS

Well, many people talk about this and it seems obvious, but for large companies everything is completely different. The fact is that all large companies in the United States are required to sell their shares on the stock exchange. And the share price determines whether the company is efficient or not. Well, the share price, first of all, depends on dividends. Therefore, some (although judging by the books many) top managers often sacrifice long-term prospects in order to show maximum profit in the current quarter.

Japanese companies do not chase profits and share prices. They look at customer satisfaction first and always make long-term investments. And all current goals are subgoals of this very general goal.

Use systematic and strategic approaches when setting goals, and all operational decisions should be subordinated to this approach. Realize your place in the history of the company and try to take it to a higher level. Work on the organization, improve and rebuild it, moving towards the main goal, which is more important than making a profit. A conceptual understanding of your purpose is the foundation of all other principles.

Your main task is to create value for the consumer, society and the economy. When assessing any type of activity in a company, consider whether it solves this problem.

Be responsible. Strive to control your destiny. Believe in your strengths and abilities. Be accountable for what you do, maintain and improve the skills that allow you to produce added value.

PRINCIPLE 2

CONTINUOUS FLOW PROCESS HELP IDENTIFY PROBLEMS

This principle is entirely dedicated to the continuous flow system, which reduces all inventories to a minimum, and the necessary raw materials or parts go further directly.

This approach minimizes the possibility of defects and missing some inaccuracies. Imagine a situation where an error has crept into the production process. And you produce and produce goods that go into the warehouse. After two weeks, your batch enters the next stage of production. And then they notice that the spare parts are defective. But all these two weeks you have been producing precisely these defective parts.

When approaching a continuous flow, such a situation cannot occur, since the product that has just been released immediately goes to the next workshop, where it immediately goes into work. And if it has a defect, it is immediately noticed.

Reengineer your process to create a continuous flow that effectively adds value. Minimize the amount of time unfinished work sits idle.

Create a flow of products or information and establish connections between processes and people so that any problem is identified immediately.

This flow must become part of the organizational culture, understandable to everyone. This is the key to continuous improvement and development of people.

PRINCIPLE 3

USE A PULL SYSTEM TO AVOID OVERPRODUCTION

A pull system means that you don't start producing until there is a need for the product.

Well, for example, an order was received for 100 cars. They require 100 steering wheels and 400 wheels. So, exactly at the moment when they start making 100 bodies, they start making 100 rudders. And not as usual - we’ll make the rudders, and then someday they will be needed...

Those. the final product pulls out all the components, and we don’t make it from what we have..

Make sure that the internal consumer who accepts your work gets what he needs at the right time and in the right quantity. The basic principle: in a just-in-time system, the stock of products should be replenished only as they are consumed.

Minimize work in progress and inventory storage. Keep a small number of items in stock and replenish these stocks as customers pick them up.

Be sensitive to daily fluctuations in consumer demand, which provide more information than computer systems and charts. This will help avoid losses due to the accumulation of excess inventory.

PRINCIPLE 4

LEVEL THE AMOUNT OF WORK (HEIJUNKA)

This principle says: work like the tortoise, not like the hare. In other words, you shouldn’t have the situation that at the beginning of the month we do nothing, come to lunch, etc., but in the last days of the month we live for days in the office to do everything planned.

Work should proceed evenly, without sudden changes. Good generals don't have heroes; they simply don't need them.

Eliminating waste is only one of the three conditions for lean manufacturing success. Eliminating overload of people and equipment and smoothing out uneven production schedules are equally important. This is often not understood in companies that are trying to apply lean principles.

Work to distribute the load evenly in all processes related to production and service. This is an alternative to alternating rush jobs and downtime, characteristic of mass production.

PRINCIPLE 5

MAKE STOPPING PRODUCTION TO SOLVE PROBLEMS PART OF YOUR PRODUCTION CULTURE IF QUALITY REQUIRES IT

This principle states that if you notice a problem, do not ignore it, patch it, or use crutches. You should work through this problem as much as possible and find the very first root cause. If necessary, pause the production process, eliminate the problem, and only then start production again.

Quality for the consumer determines your value proposition.

Use all available modern quality assurance methods.

Create equipment that can independently recognize problems and stop when they are identified. Develop a visual system to notify the team leader and team members that a machine or process requires their attention. Jidoka (machines with elements of human intelligence) is the foundation for “embedding” quality.

Ensure that the organization has a support system in place to quickly resolve problems and take corrective action.

The principle of stopping or slowing down the process should ensure that the required quality is obtained “the first time” and become an integral part of the company’s production culture. This will improve process productivity in the long term.

PRINCIPLE 6

STANDARD TASKS - THE BASIS OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND DELEGATION OF POWER TO EMPLOYEES

Everything is simple here. If the task is standard, simple and described in detail, any employee becomes an expert in its implementation. And thus, there can be no downtime if some key employee gets sick. He is immediately replaced. Moreover, since the tasks are simple and standardized, people are constantly improving their skills in performing these tasks, which means they can do them faster and better, and solve problems that arise themselves on the spot (as they are described).

Use stable, repeatable work methods to make results more predictable, improve teamwork, and produce more consistent output. This is the basis of flow and pull.

Capture the accumulated knowledge about the process, standardizing the best methods at the moment. Do not discourage creative expression aimed at raising the standard; consolidate what you have achieved with a new standard. Then the experience accumulated by one employee can be transferred to the one who replaces him.

PRINCIPLE 7

USE VISUAL CONTROL SO THAT NO PROBLEM GOES UNNOTICED

Toyota has a principle that all reports should be placed on an A3 sheet. If it doesn’t fit, then the information needs to be reduced. This format is ideal (from their point of view) to make a competent and informed decision.

In addition, they use various visual (real) signals - colored sticky notes, flip charts, etc. They try to use electronic systems minimally, namely something understandable and visual.

Use simple visual aids to help employees quickly identify where they are meeting the standard and where they have deviated from it.

You should not use a computer monitor if it distracts the worker from the work area.

Create simple visual control systems in your workplace that promote flow and pull.

If possible, reduce the length of reports to one sheet, even when it comes to major financial decisions.

PRINCIPLE 8

USE ONLY RELIABLE, PROVEN TECHNOLOGY

Toyota's DAO includes the principle that not everything new should necessarily be immediately applied. This applies to both technologies and methods. You cannot install the newest system until it has proven itself to be super-reliable and trouble-free. Indeed, for their JIT system and continuous production, even a minor stoppage or failure in operation can affect the entire process.

But at the same time, they are very open to everything new. Interesting projects and new technologies are sponsored, but they are hired only if they have proven themselves in terms of guarantees of stability.

Technology is designed to help people, not replace them. It is often worth doing the process manually first before introducing additional hardware.

New technologies are often unreliable and difficult to standardize, jeopardizing flow. Instead of using untested technology, it is better to use a known, proven process.

Before introducing new technology and equipment, testing should be carried out under real-life conditions.

Reject or change technology that conflicts with your culture and may undermine stability, reliability, or predictability.

Still, encourage your people to keep an eye on new technologies when it comes to finding new ways. Quickly implement proven technologies that have been tested to improve flow.

PRINCIPLE 9

BUILD LEADERS WHO KNOW THEIR BUSINESS THOROUGHLY, PROFESS THE COMPANY PHILOSOPHY AND CAN TEACH OTHERS ABOUT THIS

If American management recommends hiring tough specialists, head-hunting, then almost all Japanese companies, including Toyota, are categorical on this issue - they insist that it is necessary to develop leaders within the company. Only then will the manager know all the work, from finances to the very last bolt, from the inside, and profess the company’s philosophy.

In general, Eastern companies pay a lot of attention to the company philosophy. The values of employees are much more important than their knowledge in this case.

It is better to develop your own leaders than to buy them from outside the company.

A leader must not only complete the tasks assigned to him and have the skills to communicate with people. He must profess the company's philosophy and set a personal example of how to do business.

A good leader must know the day-to-day work like the back of his hand, only then can he become a true teacher of the company's philosophy.

PRINCIPLE 10

EDUCATE EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE AND FORM TEAMS THAT FOLLOW THE COMPANY'S PHILOSOPHY

The tenth principle tells in more detail about the philosophy of the company, team and individual employees. Correct views on company policy should be not only for top management, but also a mandatory attribute of every employee of the company.

Create a strong, sustainable work culture with lasting values and beliefs that everyone shares and accepts.

Train exceptional people and teams to operate with a corporate philosophy that produces exceptional results. Work tirelessly to strengthen your production culture.

Form cross-functional teams to improve quality, productivity and flow by solving complex technical problems. Arm people with the tools to improve the company.

Relentlessly train people to work as a team towards a common goal. Everyone should learn to work in a team.

PRINCIPLE 11

RESPECT YOUR PARTNERS AND SUPPLIERS, CHALLENGE THEM AND HELP THEM IMPROVE

This principle states that your suppliers and contractors are not your enemies, but rather your strategic partners. This means that you must help them, advise them, give them tips, conduct training, etc.

For example, in the USA, auto manufacturing companies (FORD, JJ, Chrysler) squeeze everything they can out of their suppliers (demanding discounts, deferred payment, and just plain disrespect. After all, who are they, and who are we?)

Toyota has a completely different approach. They are sure that they simply have to monitor their partners, train them so that they develop together with you. After all, if you are like enemies with each other, sooner or later they will set you up (on purpose or by accident - it doesn’t matter so much). For example, you doubled your production capacity due to new technologies, and did not share this technology with the supplier. It turns out that you cannot develop, because... you either urgently need to look for a second supplier (and these are risks), or now you become dependent on him (he can dictate his terms of delivery).

Respect your partners and suppliers, treat them as equal participants in a common cause.

Create conditions for partners that stimulate their growth and development. Then they will understand that they are valued. Set challenging tasks for them and help them solve them.

PRINCIPLE 12

TO UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION, YOU NEED TO SEE EVERYTHING WITH YOUR OWN EYES (GENTHI GENBUTSU)

This principle states that when making a decision, you should rely only on data in which you are 100% sure. And this is only possible when you have checked them yourself.

The same goes for any problem. For example, an engineer says that some kind of press has broken down. To understand everything (who is to blame and what to do), you, as a leader, must go and see for yourself what is wrong (and we remember that the leader knows perfectly well how things work).

When solving problems and improving processes, you must see what is happening with your own eyes and personally verify the data, and not theorize by listening to other people or looking at a computer monitor.

Your thoughts and reasoning should be based on data that you have verified yourself.

Even representatives of the company's senior management and department heads must see the problem with their own eyes, only then the understanding of the situation will be genuine and not superficial.

PRINCIPLE 13

MAKE A DECISION WITHOUT HURRY, BASED ON CONSENSUS, WEIGHING ALL POSSIBLE OPTIONS; WHEN IMPLEMENTING IT, DON’T DELAY (NEMAWASI)

This saying has our analogue - measure seven times, cut once. In other words, decisions are made for a long time, considered from different angles, discussed, criticized and analyzed. But as soon as the decision is made, it immediately begins to be implemented. No delays or delays.

Such an example. In a European or American company, an employee comes to the boss and says - look, I have this idea. This will increase productivity by 15%. And there they will praise him, well done, he showed initiative.

Toyota will ask him - what are the side effects? What alternatives have you considered? Why did you choose this one out of all the options? Etc. But as soon as the decision is made, they immediately begin to implement it, without a bunch of additional meetings and delays.

Do not make a definitive decision on a course of action until you have weighed all the alternatives. When you have decided where to go, follow the chosen path without delay, but be careful.

Nemawashi is a process of collaborative discussion of problems and potential solutions in which everyone participates. His task is to collect all the ideas and develop a common opinion on where to move next. Although this process takes quite a lot of time, it helps to carry out a larger search for solutions and prepare conditions for the prompt implementation of the decision made.

PRINCIPLE 14

BECOME A LEARNING ORGANIZATION THROUGH RELENTLESS SELF-ANALYSIS (HANSEI) AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT (KAIZEN)

And the last principle calls for constant development, building a self-learning organization that can adapt to any conditions. This will help reduce costs on many items.

In general, there are now quite a lot of books and articles about self-learning organizations, so I think there is no need to expand too much here.

The main thing is to understand that an organization is a living organism, and it lives the life of its employees, their views, philosophy, and problems. If all employees feel great, go to work with pleasure, improve their level, constantly learn - all this is reflected in the organization itself.

Well, that’s all the principles from TOYOTA DAO. Digest this information. I’m sure you can apply a lot of it to your company.

Once the process has stabilized, use continuous improvement tools to identify the root causes of inefficiencies and take effective action.

Create a process that requires almost no inventory. This will help identify wastage of time and resources. When waste is obvious to everyone, it can be eliminated through continuous improvement (kaizen).

Protect the knowledge base about the organization of your company, prevent staff turnover, monitor the gradual promotion of employees and the preservation of accumulated experience.

When you complete the main stages and complete the entire work, analyze (hansei) its shortcomings and speak openly about them. Develop measures to prevent the repetition of mistakes.

Instead of reinventing the wheel when you start a new job or when a new manager comes on board, learn to standardize best practices and methods.

The Tao of Toyota Liker Jeffrey

The Toyota approach goes beyond tools and technology

So, you have introduced your system kanban. (Kanban in Japanese - “tag”, “card”, “receipt” or “signal”. This is the name of the tool for managing the flow and production of products in the “pull” system adopted by Toyota.) You have connected andon, a device for visual monitoring of a production area that alerts workers to defects, equipment malfunctions or other problems using light, sound and similar signals. Now your workspace looks like a Toyota factory. But gradually everything returns to normal, and work goes on again as before. You call the Toyota Production System consultant, who shakes his head in disapproval. What's the matter?

In fact, the main work of implementing lean manufacturing is just beginning. Your workers have no idea about the work culture behind TPS. They are not ready to work tirelessly to improve the system and engage in self-improvement. The Toyota Tao exists primarily thanks to people who work, communicate with each other, make decisions and develop, improving each other and themselves. If you look at successful Japanese companies that operate under a lean production system, you can immediately see how actively workers make suggestions for improvement. But Toyota's approach doesn't stop there: it encourages, supports and requires everyone to participate.

The more I studied TPS and became immersed in the Toyota Way, the more I realized that it is a system that provides people with the tools to continuously improve their work. The Toyota Way is trust in people. This is a kind of culture, and not a set of techniques and methods for improving and increasing efficiency. Reducing inventory and identifying and solving hidden problems is possible only with the help of workers. If they are not responsible enough, do not understand the task at hand, and do not know how to work as a team, downtime and stockpiling will begin. Every day, engineers, skilled workers, quality specialists, suppliers, team leaders and, most importantly, operators are constantly engaged in solving problems, and this allows everyone to learn how to solve them.

One Lean tool that teaches teamwork is called 5S (Sort, Organize, Clean, Standardize, Improve; see Chapter 13 for more details). We are talking about a set of measures to eliminate losses that lead to errors, defects and injuries. The most difficult component of 5S is, perhaps, the fifth – “improve” (stimulate, maintain self-discipline. – Note scientific ed.). This point is the decisive condition for the success of the other four. Maintenance is impossible without appropriate education and training, and workers must be encouraged to comply with operating rules and improve their work methods and their workplace. The conditions for success in achieving the goals are the commitment of management to these approaches, appropriate training and production culture. Only then will maintenance and improvement become commonplace for everyone, from shop floor workers to management.

This chapter provides a brief overview of the 14 principles that make up the Toyota Way. The principles are grouped into four categories:

1, long-term philosophy;

2, the right process produces the right results (this is about using a range of TPS tools);

3, add value to the organization by developing your employees and partners;

4, Constantly solving fundamental problems stimulates lifelong learning.

The second part of the book is also structured around these four categories, which together represent the four-part model of the Toyota Way presented in Chapter 1. In the next two chapters, I will show how these 14 principles worked in the creation of Lexus and Prius. If you'd like to jump ahead to a detailed look at the 14 principles, you can skip to Chapter 7 right now. However, I strongly recommend that you read what follows first.

You can use a whole range of TPS tools, but still follow only a few selected principles of the Toyota approach. This way, you may be able to improve your performance for a while, but the results won't last long. But if a company follows all the principles of the Toyota approach when implementing TPS, it is sure to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

When I taught a course on Lean Manufacturing, I often heard the question: “How can I apply TPS in my organization? We do not mass produce cars; we make small batches of customized products" or: "We work in the service industry, so TPS is not for us." Such reasoning suggests that people do not understand the main thing. The essence of lean manufacturing is not to copy Toyota tools designed for a specific production process. Lean manufacturing means developing principles that are specific to your organization and sticking to them, effectively creating added value for consumers and society. This way your company can become profitable and competitive. The Toyota Way principles provide the starting point. Toyota uses them not only on assembly lines for mass production. In the next chapter we will see how some of these principles are applied to the organizations that provide Toyota product development services.

Brief description of the 14 principles of the Toyota Way

Section I. Long-term philosophy

Principle 1. Make management decisions with a long-term perspective, even if it is detrimental to short-term financial goals.

Your main task is to create value for the consumer, society and the economy. When assessing any type of activity in a company, consider whether it solves this problem.

Be responsible. Strive to control your destiny. Believe in your strengths and abilities. Be accountable for what you do, maintain and improve the skills that allow you to produce added value.

Section II. The right process produces the right results

Principle 2. A continuous flow process helps identify problems.

Reengineer your process to create a continuous flow that effectively adds value. Minimize the amount of time unfinished work sits idle.

Create a flow of products or information and establish connections between processes and people so that any problem is identified immediately.

This flow must become part of the organizational culture, understandable to everyone. This is the key to continuous improvement and development of people.

Principle 3. Use a pull system to avoid overproduction.

Minimize work in progress and inventory storage. Keep a small number of items in stock and replenish these stocks as customers pick them up.

Be sensitive to daily fluctuations in consumer demand, which provide more information than computer systems and charts. This will help avoid losses due to the accumulation of excess inventory.

Principle 4. Distribute the amount of work evenly ( heijunka): work like a tortoise, not like a hare.

Eliminating waste is only one of three conditions for lean manufacturing success. Eliminating overload of people and equipment and smoothing out uneven production schedules are equally important. This is often not understood in companies that are trying to apply lean principles.

Work to distribute the load evenly in all processes related to production and service. This is an alternative to alternating rush jobs and downtime, characteristic of mass production.

Principle 5. Make stopping production to solve problems part of the production culture if quality requires it.

Quality for the consumer determines your value proposition.

Use all available modern quality assurance methods.

Ensure that the organization has a support system in place to quickly resolve problems and take corrective action.

Principle 6. Standard tasks are the basis for continuous improvement and delegation of authority to employees.

Use stable, repeatable work methods to make results more predictable, improve teamwork, and produce more consistent output. This is the basis of flow and pull.

Principle 7. Use visual inspection so that no problem goes unnoticed.

Use simple visual aids to help employees quickly identify where they are meeting the standard and where they have deviated from it.

You should not use a computer monitor if it distracts the worker from the work area.

Create simple visual control systems in your workplace that promote flow and pull.

If possible, reduce the length of reports to one sheet, even when it comes to major financial decisions.

Principle 8. Use only reliable, proven technology.

Technology is designed to help people, not replace them. It is often worth doing the process manually first before introducing additional hardware.

New technologies are often unreliable and difficult to standardize, jeopardizing flow. Instead of using untested technology, it is better to use a known, proven process.

Before introducing new technology and equipment, testing should be carried out under real-life conditions.

Reject or change technology that conflicts with your culture and may undermine stability, reliability, or predictability.

Still, encourage your people to keep an eye on new technologies when it comes to finding new ways. Quickly implement proven technologies that have been tested to improve flow.

Section III. Add value to the organization by developing your employees and partners

Principle 9. Develop leaders who thoroughly know their business, profess the company's philosophy and can teach this to others.

It is better to develop your own leaders than to buy them from outside the company.

A leader must not only complete the tasks assigned to him and have the skills to communicate with people. He must profess the company's philosophy and set a personal example of how to do business.

A good leader must know the day-to-day work like the back of his hand, only then can he become a true teacher of the company's philosophy.

Principle 10. Develop exceptional people and form teams that adhere to the company's philosophy.

Create a strong, sustainable work culture with lasting values and beliefs that everyone shares and accepts.

Train exceptional people and teams to operate with a corporate philosophy that produces exceptional results. Work tirelessly to strengthen your production culture.

Form cross-functional teams to improve quality, productivity and flow by solving complex technical problems. Arm people with the tools to improve the company.

Relentlessly train people to work as a team towards a common goal. Everyone should learn to work in a team.

Principle 11. Respect your partners and suppliers, challenge them and help them improve.

Respect your partners and suppliers, treat them as equal participants in a common cause.

Create conditions for partners that stimulate their growth and development. Then they will understand that they are valued. Set challenging tasks for them and help them solve them.

Section IV. Constantly solving fundamental problems stimulates lifelong learning

Principle 12. To understand the situation, you need to see everything with your own eyes ( genchi genbutsu).

Your thoughts and reasoning should be based on data that you have verified yourself.

Principle 13. Make a decision slowly, based on consensus, after weighing all possible options; when implementing it, do not hesitate ( nemawashi).

Do not make a definitive decision on a course of action until you have weighed all the alternatives. When you have decided where to go, follow the chosen path without delay, but be careful.

Nemawashi is a process of collaborative discussion of problems and potential solutions in which everyone participates. His task is to collect all the ideas and develop a common opinion on where to move next. Although this process takes quite a lot of time, it helps to carry out a larger search for solutions and prepare conditions for the prompt implementation of the decision made.

Principle 14. Become a learning structure through relentless self-reflection ( hansei) and continuous improvement ( kaizen).

Once the process has stabilized, use continuous improvement tools to identify the root causes of inefficiencies and take effective action.

Protect the knowledge base about the organization of your company, prevent staff turnover, monitor the gradual promotion of employees and the preservation of accumulated experience.

Upon completion of the main stages and completion of all work, perform an analysis ( hansei) her shortcomings and talk openly about them. Develop measures to prevent the repetition of mistakes.

Instead of reinventing the wheel when you start a new job or when a new manager comes on board, learn to standardize best practices and methods.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book A Brief History of Money author Ostalsky Andrey Vsevolodovich

Not this - not in Soviet rubles! I won’t retell this indecent anecdote, but its meaning is that a certain representative of the most ancient profession in one Western port was ready for any perversion - except one: to accept the currency itself for payment.

by Liker Jeffrey

Where are you rushing, Toyota, give me the answer “... by striving for little, you will achieve a lot...” Lao Tzu (4th-3rd century BC) “Tao Te Ching” The great ones are always in the spotlight. They are studied up and down. Everyone wants to find out their secrets so that, using them, they can become better, more successful,