Can different factories be assessed by the same measure?
Kyocera opened the Shiga factory in 1963 and progressed to a dual-base system with the main factory. The Inamori Library exhibit states that he devised the hourly profit system in 1965. As the business expands, there are limits to the method in which the founder directly observes all the sites and makes decisions.[3]
Mister rf ／ Wikimedia Commons ／ CC BY-SA 4.0
According to the official explanation, it was difficult to grasp the actual state of work by comparing only sales amounts at the head office's complex, high-value-added products and factories that handle mass-produced products. Therefore, an index was used that subtracted expenses excluding labor costs from sales and divided by total working hours.[2]
This figure is neither the wages paid to each individual nor the final profit of the entire company. This is a management index for considering how much value a department's work generates per hour. Unless we explain what the numbers include and what they do not include, the workplace will be swayed by the numbers.
For example, even if the sales are the same, the results will be different if the waste of materials is reduced. If you spend a long time revising something, you will see the effects of it. Being able to see the relationship between our efforts and the results makes this system different from a simple assessment sheet.
However, if you try to make time seem smaller, it can also be an incentive to omit necessary education and inspections. This is not a matter of determining the historical performance of the system, but rather an issue that those using the indicators should keep in mind. If quality, health, and future development are not taken into consideration when making decisions, short-term improvements may result in other losses.
伝Interpreting YAMATO DENSHI
Explain what the numbers mean—and where their limits lie.
Just handing out indicators does not allow for shared judgment. It shows the costs that are included in the calculation and the costs that are not included, as well as items that can be improved and tasks that should not be cut. Only when there is a common language for reading numbers can ingenuity in the field lead to management success.