One-Way Ticket from Japan to Ohio

How does that cliche go? You can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Consider this: That old dog might not need any new tricks. Especially when he's man's best friend.

Gary L. Convis, a 40-year veteran of the domestic auto industry, spent nearly a quarter century with the glorious Japanese auto maker Toyota at its North American manufacturing plant. Convis had just retired last year after running Toyota Motor Corp. stateside, and now has been picked up by the likes of Dana Corp.

The Toledo-based automobile-components supplier has been struggling with its recent bankruptcy and is looking to the touted "manufacturing whiz" for some lean, mean guidance, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Convis is now the CEO of the $8.7 billion Dana Holding Corp., and everyone is looking to the seasoned pro for his expertise in lean manufacturing.

Analysts believe that if Convis could get Dana to adopt a little Toyota philosophy, things could really turn around for the Fortune 500 firm.

Never mind that the Toyota Production System was generated half a century ago ...

But perhaps that's the magic of lean? Someone actually got it right the first time?

Dana reportedly lost over $550 million last year, but Convis is confident that with a little lean implementation, he can get that turned around, starting with restoring employee's pride in their company. It may seem an odd place to start, but really, it just makes sense. One of the main elements of lean TPM is worker autonomy, which is achieved by touting a worker's ability to have nearly complete independence in his or her job and total responsibility for his or her equipment. Lean experts promote such autonomy by fostering a sense of pride in those duties among workers, and perpetuate that pride with recognition of accomplishments and successes.

In an interview with the Toledo Blade, Convis commented, "I come back to the fundamentals. It's been a couple tough years for sure. I think people's morale is related to pride in working for a great company."

Norman Bodek, who publishes books on productivity, maintains that many companies have embraced lean, but they "wrestle with a fundamental component of the philosophy: the worker."

"We've had this myth of individuality," he said in an interview with the Oregonian. "Management has used that myth to dominate workers and keep them separate. The shame is, we all love teams. We're excited that the Blazers did so well .... It's puzzling to me why we don't have teams in every American company. It's a powerful missing ingredient."

So THAT'S how Toyota got it right the first time! They focused on the integral factor that would never go away: People!

With that concept at the heart of lean, I foresee that philosophy sticking around for another 50 years, and beyond. Dana Corp. will bounce back with Convis as its leader. And hopefully more American companies will follow suit and streamline their operations and focus more on their workers.

Look, Don't Touch: Using TPS Effectively

Let's talk Toyota. Not the cars (though I hear they have stellar crash-test ratings), but the methodology employed on the industrial and business fronts.

Since the rise of the TPS (Toyota Production System) regime, businesses everywhere have gone lean. Lean is good. Lean is efficient, productive, and waste-free. The main goals of TPS are to design out overburden, inconsistency, and eliminate waste. Seeing the obvious advantages, managers shake their heads while chuckling, “Those Toyota guys! What will they come up with next?”

So what's the problem? Revering TPS and all things appertaining to it to the point of complete dependence on it. When a business is confronted with a challenge, rather than examining its company-specific needs and roadblocks to find a creative solution, it asks, What would Toyota do? It’s a fair enough inquiry; after all, Toyota's name is in the title of the philosophy. But that's just it – TPS is meant to be a business philosophy, not a panacea for all things challenging on the workfront.

Using different lean concepts championed by TPS, businesses in need of a little direction should reevaluate their use of kanban, kaizen, and 5S techniques. Don't make a blanket comparison between your company and another – each is intrinsically different and will require solutions catered to their respective dynamics.

The following is an analogy from Gembutsu Consulting:

“Imagine that we are given the task of winning a bicycle race. Unfortunately, we are not bicycle experts and do not know what type of equipment to purchase for this race. Luckily, we are very good friends with an expert. In fact, he is a Tour de France champ! We call upon this individual for his recommendations with the mindset that his knowledge and experience can surely help us prepare for and win a race. With great excitement and passion, our friend runs through his preferred bicycle brands, models, and training methods. Satisfied with this information, we go to the local bike shop and make a purchase based on our friend's recommendations. On race day, we are terribly disappointed to find that this ‘expert’ recommended bikes made for competition on a flat, paved road, while we will be racing on dirt trails in rough, mountainous terrain.”

Every business is different, from warehouse to office space. There are differences in end product, in production, company size, equipment, building makeup, company hierarchy and culture, needs, etc. It is illogical, then, to expect that exact replication of business practices would translate well in any workplace. While a general system or model for improvement and success ought to be implemented, relying on the exact play-by-play of another business (even one as esteemed as Toyota) will fall short of your company’s needs, abilities, and goals.

“When we copy specific tools (“I need a bicycle”) without understanding why, even with the best intentions, we run a great risk of implementing the wrong solution,” according to Gembutsu. While one modification may have worked for the “benchmark company,” it may not be appropriate for your company based on all the factors.

The moral of the story? Don’t be lazy and expect Toyota to fix everything for you. I hear they've got a pretty demanding automobile schedule. If your business needs a little nudge in the right direction or a complete overhaul, examine the specific reasons that need exists in the first place. Evaluate the company dynamic, from equipment usage to personnel issues, and, armed with TPS philosophy, start making decisions that will result in a leaner, meaner business. You know what TPS' ultimate goal is; now use your brilliant business to get your company there.

For a little extra help on streamlining your business Toyota-style, check out Graphic Products, Inc., a lean manufacturer and supplier of premier industrial labeling and printing supplies sure to get any business shaped up with 5S aplomb.