The Toyota Way: Always Striving for the Highest Level of Quality

David Meier, internationally recognized authority on lean and the Toyota Production System (TPS), brings his passion for Problem Solving to Minnesota manufacturers

While working at the Georgetown, Kentucky Toyota plant, David Meier learned to love finding problems. For him, it presents the opportunity for finding solutions.

"The whole production system at Toyota is based on one simple principle: the need to expose problems," Meier said. "It's a very simple idea. The key to success is solving problems. So if we're going to solve them, we have to see them."

Meier recently spoke at a series of Minnesota Council for Quality events in West St. Paul and Mankato, where attendees learned first-hand how TPS helps companies apply thinking to develop effective solutions to problems.

"Learning to effectively solve problems is by far the best of all the things I learned at Toyota," Meier said. "It's the most practical and most useful of all the tools."

A "problem," by Meier's definition, is the difference between a set standard and reality. "The gap between where I am, and where I want to be... that's the problem. So to solve a problem is to make the standard equal to the actual. Problems need to be fixed otherwise they can't get better."

Meier told event attendees that through the "Problem Solving" process, organizations learn to define a problem, analyze the issue, develop an implementation plan, and take steps to solve the problem. The whole process is initially a huge amount of work in order to make decisions very quickly. Eventually, organizations begin to make the Problem Solving process part of the day-to-day mindset for even very minor problems.

For example, there are roughly three thousand employees at a Toyota facility. If an issue arises that slow or interrupt their work, a worker pulls a cord, elevating the problem and requiring an action, or response, by the end of their one-minute job cycle. This mindset of immediate problem identification, elevation, and solving is so ingrained into employee mindset throughout their facility that the problem solving process happens, on average, five thousand times per day.

"This process is the most critical thing that Toyota does," Meier said. "We're talking about using this process for all parts of the business. It's not just a tool for solving problems, but a way that Toyota uses to guide their thinking."

What happens if the number of problems drops significantly at Toyota? The company stops production, worried that workers are missing or ignoring problems. All managers are asked to go back and validate processes to confirm that no problems are being overlooked. The idea is to always strive for the highest level of quality says Meier.

"Toyota spends more time focusing on quality and fixing problems than any other organization," Meier said.

Not every company has to be Toyota though, or even a manufacturer, to implement Problem Solving says Meier. The key to success, for any organization, is a willingness to be brave and creative in search  of solutions.

"Problem Solving can be a scary thing; it's all about the unknown," Meier said. "There's not one right way to solve problems. There's not one right answer, there are multiple choices."

Meier will be returning to Minnesota to work with five Minnesota manufacturing companies on Problem Solving thanks to a grant recently awarded to Enterprise Minnesota through the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP). Click here to learn more.

The Next Generation of Lean

When: July 22, 2009, 8:00am - 11:00am
Where: Gorecki Center, College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph
Cost: Early Bird Rate $79 (before July 11), Group Rate 4 for $237, or Regular $110
Continental breakfast provided.



Who should attend:
CEOs, General Managers, CFOs, CIOs, VPs, Mid Level Managers, & Supervisors

What to expect:
Competing and winning today in business requires foresight that includes Green (environmental sustainability) and Lean (reduced costs and increased efficiency) to create strategies that deliver clear, measurable, and rapid returns. Come learn how today's successful organizations are combining Lean and Green practices to improve productivity, competitiveness and opportunities for growth.

Presenters:

Register online today!
For questions or more information email events@enterpriseminnesota.org or call our events line at 612.455.4239.