Toyota's well kept Secrets ;

'Monozukuri & Harada

Method'
 Published on April 19, 2015

ZeeshaN.SyeD (‫)ذیشان سید‬

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Freelance Professional Coach Lean - Sigma - H.S.E : Manufacturing & Planning
(PVC,Copper, Wire & Cables ,Automotives)
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Lean as ' Learning - People

development & Craftsmanship'.
Times are fundamentally changed. Hierarchical
management according the Taylorian model is outdated.
Companies can no longer survive by going on with what
they've always done. There is a great need to answer the
question how it should go on with our companies and
industries. I have written this article, which in my mind,
offers such an answer. It goes into the 'Monozukuri
philosophy' and explains how people in production and
management, can achieve mastery. It has been inspired
from the working paper by Michael Balle, author of The
Gold Mine, that addresses how the Toyota Production
System is in fact a Learning System. The core of Lean is
repeated practice in using the scientific approach in order to
learn how to solve tomorrows’ problems. Leading Lean is
about learning to face, find and frame the underlying
business problems through coaching the front-line in solving
their problems. We learn as they learn.

In 1963 , The United States was the world's leading steel and automobile
producer--producing 97.56 million tons of steel in order that American
craftsmen could build 7.7 Million cars. Japan--the world's fourth largest
steel producer at the time, produced just 27.82 million tons of steel that
helped Toyota employees craft a paltry 300,000 cars.

Things are a different today for the former American craftsmen--long

since replaced by robots and the now even craftier, American executive.

Toyota's employees now turn out 10 million cars, and Toyota's

profitability exceeds the profits of Ford, GM, and Chrysler combined. And
those learned Toyota employees? Well, their crazy continuing
improvements now produce nearly $1,800 in profit for every car they
build. All of this successful revolution is attributed to their Production
system - recognized world wide as 'Toyota Production System' coupled
with the Heart of it called the 'Toyota Way'. Toyota Motor Corporation's
vehicle production system is a way of "making things" that is sometimes
referred to as a "Lean manufacturing system" or a "Just-in-Time (J.I.T)
system," and has come to be well known and studied worldwide.
Traditionally Toyota Production System is understood as A production
system which is steeped in the philosophy of "the complete elimination of
all waste" imbuing all aspects of production in pursuit of the most efficient
methods.
The Ultimate Objective of T.P.S , to most people, are:

 Zero Defects
 Total Elimination of Wastes
 1 X 1 Movement

However an important Link -- Since it is people who manufacture things,

manufacturing is impossible unless people are developed.

It is said that Deming helped complete Toyota Production System with the
introduction of the P-D-C-A cycle as part of Kaizen. If one carefully
looks at the ultimate objectives of T.P.S listed above , One could realize
that all the items have a direct relationship with Respect for People. It's
certainly not by accident that the Toyota Way consists of ‘Continuous
Improvement’ and ‘Respect for People’.

The New version of Toyota Production System

Nowadays, The lean management system consists of the
discipline, daily practices, and tools you need to establish and
maintain a persistent, intensive focus on process. It is the
process focus that sustains and extends lean implementations.
Little by little, almost unnoticeably, lean culture grows from
these practices as they become habitual. A lean culture emerges
as leaders replace the mindset learned in our careers in batch-
and-queue manufacturing.

At Toyota they say 物づくりは人づくり or “making things is

making people” (Monozukuri wa hitozukuri) or “develop people
and then build products”. Their commitment to developing
people is clear and they take this seriously. It’s part of the
culture and management system, and a massive competitive
advantage. Since they depend on this to build in quality and
maintain productivity, it’s also a possible weakness if they
attempt to grow faster than they can develop people.

“Before cars, make people.”

–Eiji Toyoda, former Chairman of Toyota

Four Principal Elements of Lean Management

The lean management system consists of four principal
elements:

1. Leader standard work,

2. Visual controls,
3. Daily accountability process, and
4. Leadership discipline.

Standard work for leaders, the engine of lean management, is

the highest leverage tool in the lean management system.
Leader standard work is the first principal element of lean
management; which provides a structure and routine that helps
leaders shift from a sole focus on results to a dual focus on
process plus results. This change in focus is crucial to the
success of a lean operation. Moreover, it is perhaps the most
difficult thing to accomplish in a leader’s personal conversion
from batch and queue to lean thinking. Leader standard work
aids this conversion by translating the focus on process, an
abstract concept, into concrete expectations for the leader’s own
specific job performance. Just as standard work elements in
a production workstation provide a clear and unambiguous
statement of expectations, the same is true of standard work for
leaders. (The main difference is that virtually all of an
operator’s time at work is defined by standardized work.
For team leaders, the proportion is still about 80 percent. The
proportion drops to about half for supervisors and about a
quarter for value stream leaders.)
LEAN by TAIICHI OHNO - ADD VALUE & SAVE COST

"A commonly used definition of Lean is the Total elimination of Waste

(time, resources, energy, etc).

But what is the purpose of this?

Does the purpose matter?

If we look at the origins of this principle in Taiichi Ohno’s the Toyota

Production System, the goal for Toyota in 1978 was indeed cost reduction:

“Cost reduction & adding Value must be the Goal of consumer products
manufactures trying to survive in today’s marketplace… A total
management system is needed that develops human ability to its fullest
capacity to best enhance creativity and fruitfulness, to utilize facilities and
machines well, and to eliminate all waste. The Toyota production system,
with its two pillars advocating the absolute elimination of waste, was born
in Japan out of necessity.”
But it was also about much more than this. Eliminating waste makes it
easier to see and find problems, which is the first step to solving them. It
removes frustrations, which improves worker and customer satisfaction.
The purpose or goal of Lean efforts could be cost reduction, shortened lead
time, improve customer satisfaction, removing frustrations, improve
quality, etc. The specific goal doesn’t matter, but having consensus for the
goal does, which enables improvement efforts to be aligned towards
meeting the goal. The goal mattering to the people doing the work is
important to get consensus towards the goal. For example, in the factories
we work for, there is consensus that our purpose is to improve also the
morale of Work force for sustainable Lean.

Ohno says, “When thinking about the absolute elimination of waste, keep
the following two points in mind:

1. Improving efficiency makes sense only when it is tied to cost reduction.

To achieve this, we have to start producing only the things we need using
minimum manpower.

2. Look at the efficiency of each operator and of each line. Then look at
the operators as a group, and then at the efficiency of the entire plant (all
the lines). Efficiency must be improved at each step and, at the same time,
for the plant as a whole. “

Ohno goes deeper on the second point:

“Understanding is my favorite word. I believe it has a specific meaning –

to approach an objective positively and comprehend its nature. Careful
inspection of any production area reveals waste and room for
improvement. No one can understand manufacturing by just walking
through the work area and looking at it. We have to see each area’s role
and function in the overall picture.”

Basic awareness by Ma'am Katrina Appell.

This production control system has been established based on many years
of continuous improvements, with the objective of "making the vehicles
ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to
deliver the vehicles as quickly as possible."
The Toyota Production System (TPS) was established based on two
concepts: The first is called "jidoka" (which can be loosely translated as
"automation with a human touch") which means that when a problem
occurs, the equipment stops immediately, preventing defective products
from being produced; The second is the concept of "Just-in-Time," in
which each process produces only what is needed by the next process in a
continuous flow.

Based on the basic philosophies of jidoka and Just-in-Time, the TPS can
efficiently and quickly produce vehicles of sound quality, one at a time,
that fully satisfy customer requirements.

When Gary Convis, former president of Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky,

was asked, “What do you expect from your workers?” He said, “Only two
things-come to work and pull the cord.” He knew that in order to ensure
the production of high-quality automobiles and maintain Toyota’s
reputation for high quality, every worker must be empowered and
respected to solve problems the second they occur. Every worker knew
that the next worker is my customer and my customer should never receive
a defect from “me.” Gary enforced Jidoka and was willing to stop the
entire plant, if necessary, to prevent defects from being passed to
customers. But, in spite of Jidoka being used, major defects did get
through to Toyota customers.

With Jidoka, we give every worker a whole new level of respect and
empowerment to truly serve their customers. Prior to Jidoka, quality at
Toyota was monitored solely by the quality inspectors and quality
managers. With Jidoka every factory worker became responsible for
quality.

Jidoka changed the Toyota culture from one of blame to one of trust, to a
truly “blameless” environment. Prior to Jidoka, when a problem was
detected, the supervisor would ask, “Who did it?” Even today “mistakes”
in many companies are not tolerated. Employees learn to fear getting
blamed. As a result, they try to hide mistakes and defects, or they quickly
learn to blame someone else (usually the “other shift”). But everyone
makes mistakes, and the smart company learns to treasure those mistakes
as opportunities to learn.

Monozukuri and Hitozukuri

In February 2011, Chairman Fujio Cho said Toyota’s mission is to

“preserve the Japanese Monozukuriiii”.

But what does ‘Monozukuri’ mean?

It is a word that captures the true spirit of Toyota in relation to the concept
of sustainability. The literal meaning of Monozukuri is ‘production’.
‘Mono’ is the thing which is made and ‘Zukuri’ means the act of making
but Monozukuri implies more than simply making things. It can be best
compared to the word ‘craftsmanship’ in English. At Toyota they say 物づ
くりは人づくり or "making things is making people" (monozukuri wa
hitozukuri) or "develop people and then build products". Their
commitment to developing people is clear and they take this seriously. It's
part of the culture and management system, and a massive competitive
advantage. Since they depend on this to build in quality and maintain
productivity, it's also a possible weakness if they attempt to grow faster
than they can develop people. To me, ‘Respect for People’ determines why
I come to work today and tomorrow. My view is that by creating the
equation making things is making people, Toyota has placed people
development as a value added activity.

Monozukuri is a term that can be best translated as “the process of

creating superior products through pride of workmanship, manufacturing
excellence, and continuous improvement.” Its closest English equivalent is
“craftsmanship,” which suggests that the work product is a labor of love,
one that requires an extremely high level of skill that might take a lifetime
to master. This high level of skill is achieved through hitozukuri.

Toyota view: (Manager)

– What is the problem? – What is the true nature of the problem? – What
is causing the problem? – How will you know when the problem is
solved? – Challenge the employee to do what is planned!

Why is this Respect for people • The manager is showing attention to the
employee • The manager is asking questions- the assumption is that you
can solve the problem • It assumes the employee has capability’ • It
acknowledges the importance of the employee in the process • It provides
help only if needed • Gives the employee the power to solve problems by
giving the employee lean tools • It is aimed at developing the employee
Hitozukuri is an organization’s commitment to lifelong development of
the skills and knowledge of all employees. Denso, one of Toyota’s major
suppliers, has a saying, “Monozukuri is hitozukuri.” In other
words,monozukuri (product excellence) cannot be achieved
without hitozukuri(people excellence).

To achieve hitozukuri, masters from inside and outside the organization

provide the lifelong training and mentoring of employees. This enables the
employees to:
• Learn new skills and technology to increase their value to the
organization
• Become masters of their current positions and serve as mentors to more
junior employees
• Advance within the company to positions requiring new knowledge and
skill sets
• Develop a level of self-confidence and self-reliance that grows over time
• Create and implement ideas to improve work processes and the
organization as a whole

Monozukuri is making products, something akin to artisanship but

without the fanciful elements to it. Something about making the right
product for the right customer (no frills) and making it the right way,
which is with the most frugal work process possible, the closest to 100%
value-added. In the Japanese tradition of monozukuri, the craftsman takes
great care using resources not to be wasteful or frivolous. When an item or
human effort is taken into use, there needs to be a benefit for the society in
the result — while, at the same time, the balance between production,
resources and the society should be maintained. You could even say that
monozukuri is the older sister of the concept of sustainable manufacturing.

Hitozukuri is making people in the sense of constantly developing

technical skills and the ability to solve problems with others in an
atmosphere of mutual trust. Much of the literature from Toyota suppliers
insists on the second part: there has to be confidence in order to hone
skills. They put forward the many initiatives they have to develop self-
confidence and confidence in management with the same vigor as we
debate the financial savings of lean programs.

Monozukuri does not have a direct translation from Japanese to English,

but essentially means “craftsmanship.” Basically, it is the art or process of
creating the best products – not just through technology, but by taking
pride in work and achieving excellence in manufacturing processes and
through continuous improvement.

Hitozukuri = hito + zukuri or people + process of making. Effectively,

hitozukuri stands for the process of educating and forming people. The
pride and the excellence in craftsmanship by continuous process
improvement can be achieved using hitozukuri, and monozukuri can be
achieved by hitozukuri.

But hitozukuri stands for much more than just educating people. It is a
continuous process that enables people to mature along with their art (or
work) to achieve success in their fields and skills. By using
hitozukuri, employees are not only guided along their work and their tasks,
but are enabled such that they can set their own targets and then improve
their own work to meet those targets.
Hitozukuri is a way in which people within as well as outside the
organization, train and mentor the employees to:

 Learn new skills,

 Master current jobs and mentor others,
 Rotate jobs and grow within the organization to achieve new and
higher positions,
 Develop self-confidence and self-belief that enables the employee to
do better, and
 Find new ways to improve existing processes.

Hitozukuri focuses on using the talent that is within the organization and
treating it with respect.

Respect People by Giving Them Challenging Work (Mark Reich):

"......How do we support the work to get done?

The primary motivation for the majority of people is not money,

promotion, or flexibility; it is the ability for each person to feel that they
are performing challenging, meaningful work.
That's why doling out pay raises or promotions is a short-term solution at
best. Like steroids (a quick injection to boost performance), the
stimulation wears off and we need another shot to keep pace.
Of course people want to be compensated and recognized for their efforts,
but these are not the primary motivators for most people.

Management of every organization must ask the question:

How can We create sustainable strong capability and motivation for the
organization through the development of each team member's
capability?.."

Takashi Harada and the Creation of the Harada Method

Takashi Harada, a Japanese high school teacher, developed what is now

known as the Harada method, which provides a process for hitozukuri. The
Harada method deals with the human side of Lean and enables employees
to be successful by identifying and embracing a goal or task that helps
them move forward. The Harada Method can be used to gain full
cooperation for a company’s Lean efforts by overcoming the Eighth Waste
of Lean: the under-utilization of people’s creative talents. It empowers
people to take charge of their own lives in order to become highly skilled
on the job and become totally self-reliant. It teaches how the company and
every employee can be successful at the same time.

In Osaka, Japan, Harada taught track and field in a an overall low-rated

junior high school. As a coach, he observed that students outside his
school were outperforming his athletes. No amount of coaxing made his
runners perform better. Harada knew it was time for a change in the
mindset of his students. He studied the ways in which successful teams,
coaches and leaders worked. From these studies, he came up with
an approach that helped his students achieve greater success.

The Harada method was designed with the view of teaching each student
(or employee) to be a great leader and also a coach – able to build a
winning team. This method falls in line with Lean Six Sigma and other
methods and tools that drive continuous improvement. The key to the
method is to ask every worker to pick a goal to succeed at in life. It asks
everyone to become highly-skilled at something. It gives people something
to strive for when they come to work. It is a well thought-out, step-by-step
process to help transform people to achieve success for themselves and for
their organizations.

Self-reliance: The Essence of the Harada Method

Goals for Self- Reliance • To be the best in the world at

something.

The essence of the Harada method is self-reliance – the confidence and the
ability of individuals to develop their skills to the extent that they are
virtually irreplaceable. This self-confidence enables them to use their skills
for their own improvement as well as that of the organization. Such
employees can be trusted to make correct, well-informed decisions. As the
goals are set by the employees themselves, there is no ambiguity or
question of ownership of these goals.

The Harada method encourages improvement across all levels of an

organization, including the following:

 It makes leaders and coaches out of managers.

 Not only does it improve a person’s skill level, but it also creates a
vision for the long-term personal success of the individual.
 Once individuals visualize what they want to achieve, this method
teaches them how to set smaller goals on the road to realizing their
greater vision.
  As individuals work toward achieving success, individuals’ self-
esteem is raised and further pushes them to do better. This also
improves their confidence.
 Once the path for moving forward is defined, it is easier to repeat
success.
 Any individual is able to be successful.

A Focus on Self-reliance

The Harada method’s focus is self-reliance – individuals should improve

themselves so much that success follows on its own. This can be achieved
by improving an individual’s spirit, skills, physical conditions and daily
life. Success cannot be achieved, however, unless an individual makes the
effort to attain it. The individuals must master the skill they are working
on, whether that skill is data entry or complicated machinery work. Once
the skill is mastered, the individual can better the skill and ensure that it is
performed consistently.

The ability to bring passion to work is a critical component along the path
to self-reliance. The most boring and routine of tasks can be interesting if
the person performing those tasks has passion. Passion enables individuals
to look for ways to improve their tasks and help remove boring aspects of
their work. Consider, for example, the goal of running 10 miles every day.
Although that 10 mile run may not be interesting, the goal is defined. By
then applying the Harada method there are interim targets that can be set to
help achieve that goal and make the journey more interesting.

The Harada method leads an individual through five stages:

1. Premeditation: Choosing a skill that the person wants to excel at

2. Personal excellence: Excelling at the chosen skill
3. Goal setting: Setting goals to reach excellence
4. Selfless service: Giving the tasks their all
5. Self-reliance: Doing it yourself and relying on yourself for the
success you want to achieve

The Steps to 'Self - Reliance'

The Harada method defines three high-level steps that teach self-reliance:

1. Pick a goal,
2. Develop a time frame and
3. Plan to achieve the goal.

Three Steps of the Harada Method

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kce2L23yLcw

In order to achieve their goals, there are some guidelines individuals

should follow:

 Individuals should pick goals that are aligned with their personal
visions and their companies’ visions. This is the most difficult step
as picking a goal means committing to that goal and there is a risk of
failure involved. In order to help facilitate success, be sure that the
goal is in line with the company’s plans and it will be easier to gain
the support of your superiors and colleagues.
 Develop a timeline for achieving the goal. It is important to define a
realistic timeline – if the timeline is too ambitious or relaxed, the
task of setting the goal itself will fail.
 Create the necessary measures to monitor progress. Without
monitoring, individuals will never know if they are successful. For
example, if the goal is to complete packing 10 items in two hours,
then check in at the end of the first hour to see if the task is halfway
complete.

Remember ----Lean is a Journey --

Only 20% Tools & 80% Culture, Mindset & Thinking !

“Knowledge is something you buy with the money.

Wisdom is something you acquire by doing it.”

Taiichi Ohno

Dedicated to my Sensei - Mr Keith Macintosh of Phelps Dodge Energy

Inc. P.D.I.C & General Cables , USA .....

Zeeshan Syed
Lean Sigma Student , Practitioner & Coach.