These are the next sessions with Shingo Sensei and his teachings. As always my notes and interpretations. I hope you enjoy!
Shigeo Shingo
As the home work with Shingo Sensei I had to watch a video of his father going on the Gemba in the AT&T and giving technical advice.
These are some of the golden nuggets from the video:
“Detecting defects after they were created is like writing a death certificate”
“Get rid of the thought that it is natural to create defects.”
“Zero defects is a mindset”
“My brain is very simple .. one problem at at time”
“Concentrate all efforts on eliminating mistakes. Dont work on solving mistakes after they have arisen”
“Dont make a mistake to begin with”
“You want to transfer the brain and the wisdom of humans into the machine”
“Better spending time on staying home and work on eliminating errors and mistakes than going to Japan and watch how Toyota does”
“You designate three areas in a factory to get zero defects. And you celebrate when you get there”
Masao Nemotos Credo:
Masao Nemoto is known for his credo and principal in building the Toyota Management System (TMS). He has been pivotal in creating many managers and the way they think. Here is his credo and Shingo Senseis interpretation of them:
1. Improvement after improvement
Never ending continuous improvement. Impovement doesnt have a goal. Never ending proces. Improvement should happen every day, every where and by every one. As Shingo Sensei says: When you implement an improvement it is not the end - it's the beginning!
2. Good coordination between divisons is an essential quality for middle managers
Is important that middle managers works together to make sure they can reach a goal or solve a problem. Nemawashi (preparing the soil) is an essential skill.
3. Everyone speaks
It is better to have everyones opinion than listening to a very strong person. You need to try to get everyones opinion so that you get as much information and ideas as possible.
4. There is a reason for not scolding
You should not scold anyone! If you scold then the person scolded might go home and scold their spouse and then they scold the dog and the dog bites the sofa. So never scold - try to understand and help with support and coaching instead.
5. Try harder when you teach if the other party does not understand you
If the person teaching discovers that the learner doesn.t understand then try explaining in another way. Think if you really did your best in explaining or maybe you could explain it better.
6. Send the best employees out for rotation
Toyota has a rotation policy to train employees. There is a strong tendency for managers to keep their best employees from rotation. But the company benefits most in the long run by training its best employees.
7. A command without a deadline is not a command
This rule is used to ensure that managers always give a deadline or schedule for work. The rationale is that without a deadline, tasks are far less likely to be completed.
8. Rehersal is an ideal occasion for training.
Managers and supervisors give numerous presentations and reports. In a QC program there are frequent progress reports. Mr. Nemoto encourages managers to focus on the rehearsal of reports and presentations, and to require that they be rehearsed.
9. Inspection is a failure unless top management takes action
The idea behind this is that management must prescribe specific remedies whenever a problem is observed or reported. So is failing to take any action once a problem is defined.
10. Ask subordinates, "What can I do for you?"
When a manager gives a target to the employees he must ask if he can help them reach it. If top management is perceived as willing to help with problems, employees are more optimistic about tackling the problems and will take management's goals more seriously.
Burglar story
When we talk about waste and purpose Shingo Sensei told me a story that his father told him. That is the story about the burglar:
You have to enter into the home of a rich person who has a desser and you suspect that something of great value is in one of the drawers. You have to work fast because the police might arrive very soon. So the question is: Where do you start when you open the drawers? From the top, from the middle or from the bottom?
Think about that for a second! Where would you start? Which is the fastest way to open the drawers and get out before the police comes?
What do you think?
Well, the most efficient way to open all the drawers is starting from the top? No, starting from the bottom. If you start from the top you will have to open the drawer and then close it to get to the next one and so on untill you reach the bottom. But this will take a long time and you might get caught by the police.
But if you start from the bottom you only open the bottom drawer go the the next drawer and the next etc. untill you reach the top and you get out of the house before the police arrives.
So now you know how to most efficiently open all the drawers in a dresser 😁
