Beyond the Cubicle with Teri AulphThe influence of globalization over the past fifteen years has altered the landscape of manufacturing and created more systemic change than any era since the Industrial Age.
Who would have thought the quiet, methodical, thrifty, humble culture of the Japanese would bring a new way of producing goods that would result in optimum efficiency and higher profitability.
There are many countries that have claimed ownership for the creation and development of ‘Lean Manufacturing’; however, Toyota has set the standard for all to follow.
They may not be the first to put into practice lean concepts, but they are the most influential large global company to travel the path not taken in the world of manufacturing.
Having spent many years in the automotive industry and living implementations of the Toyota Way by American and German automotive suppliers, it became apparent these efforts permeated not only the production floor, but also the culture of the companies and the industry at large.
The impact of independent teams on the production floor owning responsibility for running their work cells has shifted our perspective from one person, one job…to result oriented teams. The most critical piece of this shift is the sense of ownership by those on the production floor. By redesigning the role of team leaders and raising the bar, they become the root source for improvements.
This change alone rippled through companies impacting cultures with systemic change towards teamwork at every level. In addition, the expectation that Toyota presented to it’s suppliers that they become part of the “Toyota Team’ fostering a new type of supplier relationship has improved the supply chain function of companies everywhere. The historical model of supplier treatment where companies developed adversarial relationships and bullied suppliers for their own advantage weren’t working and were counterintuitive to the values most companies were built on.
Lean concepts alone are now a part of everyday language in companies all over the world. Maintaining large amounts of inventory, housing it in a room apart from the production floor, and employing a separate inventory manager are archaic and inefficient. Giving up control of this element of the process has been a slow cultural shift, but one that must be made to survive financially.
If you take a strategic view of the impact Toyota has made on companies globally, you will find it has reframed the basic core of all functions. Financial reports are driven by supply chain, inventory turns, labor and output. Human Resources must take a very different approach to staffing at every level. If the expectations have changed, so has the skill-set. Managing this type of change and business flow requires a new type of management. Talent Management systems had to be re-designed to provide for the development of new employee structures.
Supply Chain departments had to make the change from the old Purchasing Departments. No longer was it advantageous to the business to have as many suppliers as possible. Supply Chain managers are required to have the ability to effectively influence and build long-term relationships as well as understand the strategic financial ramifications of the supplier/customer relationship.
Engineering Departments had to move from a ‘we vs. them’ mentality with the production floor to considering them trusted partners.
Essentially, the cultural shifts by most global manufacturing companies influenced by Toyota are subtle, but dramatic…much like the Japanese culture. While these concepts appear simple, that is the beauty of the process. In its simplicity is the efficiency and ability for all to understand and be aware of continuous opportunities for improvement.
While the Automotive Industry has certainly had its difficulties in the past few years, it remains a force to be reckoned with and is standing strong in the wake of the storm. At the core and what will become a part of its cultural DNA are the cultural influences of a simple model based on humility, efficiency and relationships.
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