Repair the car, then improve the work behind it.
If you fix the broken one, that user can start running again. However, if the same problem occurs in another location, the company's work is not finished. A mechanism to provide one-time rescue and reduce repetition. There is a huge gap between them.
When thinking about Kiichiro's manufacturing, another clue is his just-in-time concept of getting what you need when you need it. Toyota's corporate history traces its origins to Kiichiro's concept.[3] It is not accurate to think of the entire production system that developed later as a finished product of his alone.
When it's needed, it's not determined by the factory clock alone. There is a previous process, a next process, and a user. If you broaden your perspective to include the other person's work, you will find that even if your area is efficient, the entire system may come to a standstill.
However, the story of a founder who faced up to his responsibility does not end with steady growth. In 1950, the company found itself in a situation where it was difficult to even continue employing people.
NearEMPTiness / Wikimedia Commons/Image source / CC BY-SA 4.0(No modification of photo content)
Sources and references
- 75 years of Toyota history "Kiichiro Toyoda until graduation from university"
- 75 Years of Toyota History "Quality and Detailed Explanation"
- 75 Years of Toyota History: The Roots of Automation and Just-in-Time
- 75 years of Toyota history: President Kiichiro's resignation
- Toyota's 75-year history "The death of founder Kiichiro Toyoda and Risaburo Toyoda"
- 75 Years of Toyota History "Comprehensive Chronology 1931–1940"
伝Interpreting YAMATO DENSHI
Responsibility should not be limited to individual efforts.
Every time, someone knowledgeable comes in and solves the problem. That may seem reliable, but if that person is absent, you will be in trouble. Experience becomes a strength to everyone when we put what we learned on-site back into records, designs, and procedures. One of my responsibilities is to create an environment in which I can be entrusted with work.