In the literature and in the real world there is a focus on links between the creativity of design engineers and the demands of standardization. Although, the expression ‘standardization kills the creativity’ is very popular, engineers must make a distinction between their own and the team´s creativity and strive to exploit the benefits that standardization can provide. For example Morgan and Liker (2006:99) argue that:
Toyota´s PD process shows that variations of standardization actually give programme teams a great degree of flexibility and enable speed, precise execution, improved quality through robust reliability as well as system predictability, and waste elimination that reduces cost.
Standardization is deeply engrained in lean manufacturing as it is one of the pillars of the TPS (see Chapter 3 and Figure 3.1) and constitutes Principle 6 of the Toyota Way framework. Standardization is also the backbone of Toyota´s success in PD.
Liker (2007:205) highlights standardization in The Toyota Way as the foundation for flow and pull - and as the basis for empowering workers and introducing innovation in the work place. Moreover, establishing standards provides job routine and enables workers to ensure zero defects. Thus quality and consistency in the process can be guaranteed. Standardization is necessary to stabilize the process before continuous improvement starts. Similarly, Liker and Morgan (2006:11) state that standardization is the basis for continuous improvement and that Toyota uses standardization of tasks at low levels to achieve higher-level system flexibility. Moreover in an unpredictable environment, such as PD, standardization supports the achievement of stable and predictable outcomes. Bicheno and Holweg (2009:84) add that work standardization creates processes that are ‘repeatable, reliable and capable’.
Morgan and Liker (2006:99-113) point out that standardization in PD can be executed in various ways: these are briefly summarized below, together with different standardization opportunities and their benefits:
1. Rigorous design standardization helps to exploit the advantages of using product platforms, modular structures, shared components and carry-over parts, subsystems and technologies.
156 2. Standard architecture enables consistency of body system performance and
reduces the number of test requirements.
3. Standard manufacturing and testing processes ensure constant quality in building of products which helps to identify the constraints on PD in advance.
4. A standard development process through precise synchronization of development and manufacturing activities is the key to reduction of development time.
5. Ensuring standard engineering competencies builds team integrity and professional trust between the engineers and management.
Overall, standardization contributes to the reduction of task-time variation, as the tasks are completed on time. Furthermore, it contributes to system stability, which makes capacity planning more accurate. This allows PD programmes to be completed according to planned schedules: process variability is minimized and the throughput times are reduced.
Morgan and Liker (2006:100) categorize standardization in a LPDS in three groups:
1. Design standardization - is concerned with standardization of component geometry and with the use of common platforms. It is related to the use and reuse of standard components and common architecture across vehicle models. The key tools for design standardization are checklists that guide engineers throughout the development process: these will be explained in Principle 15.
2. Process standardization - refers to standardization of both the development and manufacturing processes in terms of standard tasks, work instructions and task sequence and duration. An important benefit of PD process standardization is that it ensures better understanding across engineering organization and also improved communication: this is because it provides a common framework for all stakeholders, thereby creating highly stable and more predictable outcomes and reducing variation in a complex and unpredictable environment.
3. Engineering skill-set standardization – is based on the individual skills-acquisition- based process and on career path standardization. This practice is fundamental to creating a culture of technical excellence as it supports building of team integrity and professional trust between engineers and management. Skill-set standardization of each engineer starts from their first day in a company. Once successfully entered in a
157 position engineers, follow a standard, skills-acquisition-based personnel development process. A newcomer starts with an intensive two-year on-the-job training period before moving up to a first-level engineering rank. A prerequisite to becoming a first-rate development engineer is to spend a period of two to three months in production as an hourly worker, explain Liker and Hoseus (2009:209). So the engineer has the opportunity to understand this environment, and learn to cooperate with manufacturing and thus provide support for Simultaneous Engineering.
6.5.1 Linking the theory with the real world
Principle 4 dealing with standardization is a very practically oriented principle and it demonstrates how Toyota´s success starts: that is, with rigorous standardization of work, processes and skills. However, standardization in PD must allow engineers more flexibility and variability in order to enable creativity and innovation. At the same time a degree of standardization will benefit any PD organization as it creates highly stable and more predictable outcomes in this complex and unpredictable environment.
Many companies do have Quality Management standards in place, but in most cases this is in the form of huge dust-filled manuals. Occasionally these manuals get polished and updated. However, standards need to be maintained in the daily work of employees: they need to be regularly discussed, improved upon and updated.
In terms of skills-standardization, as has been mentioned, the first important step for any newcomer is the initial training provided by the company. However, many companies do not provide such training and newcomers must learn by doing. The recommendation would be to standardize this process as one of the initial procedures in any organization. The principles, values and standards taught to all new employees will contribute to sustainability, improvement and the growth of the business. Moreover, it will create a strong foundation for the creation and development of a company´s work culture.
6.6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
As was noted earlier, Toyota´s LPDS framework is a theoretical framework, but it also describes real processes existing at Toyota. However, it is often challenging to find the link between the comprehensive theory and complex practice. A wide-ranging analysis of the theory reviewed in Principles 1, 2, 3 and 4 will provide the basis for questions and
158 statements whereby the nature of the theory-practice connection can be probed. The statements identified in the first part of the LPDS framework, together will others that will be identified in the next two chapters, will provide the basis for a questionnaire survey which constitutes the empirical part of this study. The statements identified in the ‘Process Subsystem’ from Chapter 6 are as follows:
Company has adequate strategies in place to determine South African customer needs and product attributes for the local market
Company effectively integrates the voice of our customers into engineering processes Product and manufacturing processes are developed concurrently / simultaneously Manufacturing staff plays an active role in the product engineering process
Product engineers and manufacturing engineers communicate intensively Products are developed on standardized product platforms
Engineers make use of existing standardized parts
Value stream mapping or any mapping activity in the product engineering process has been initiated
Definition of roles and responsibilities of program members in the product process Definition of milestones and the activities at various milestones in the product process Product engineering process is measured and monitored
Engineers adhere to deadlines and review dates Managers review program status and track progress
Definition of product engineering process and process standards Definition of manufacturing process and process standards
Definition of required engineering skills and competencies in the product process Checklists are used in the engineering process
159 CHAPTER 7
LEAN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM – PEOPLE SUBSYSTEM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
7.1 INTRODUCTION ...162
7.2 PRINCIPLE 5: DEVELOP A CHIEF ENGINEER SYSTEM TO INTEGRATE DEVELOPMENT FROM START TO FINISH ...163
7.2.1 Project and programme leadership in traditional organizations ...166
7.2.2 Project and programme leadership in the Lean Product Development System ...167
7.2.3 Toyota´s Chief Engineer System ...167
7.3 PRINCIPLE 6: ORGANIZE TO BALANCE FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE AND CROSS-FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION ...169
7.3.1 Organizational design for lean product development ...170
7.3.2 The coordination mechanisms at Toyota...172
7.3.3 Linking the theory with the real world ...173
7.4 PRINCIPLE 7: DEVELOP TOWERING TECHNICAL COMPETENCE IN ALL ENGINEERS ...173
7.4.1 Recruiting and development process in a traditional organization ...174
7.4.2 Recruiting and development process at lean companies ...175
7.4.3 Mechanisms for organizational and individual learning ...177
7.4.4 Linking the theory with the real world ...177
7.5 PRINCIPLE 8: FULLY INTEGRATE SUPPLIERS INTO THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM ...178
7.5.1 Customer-supplier practices in traditional companies ...179
7.5.2 Customer-supplier practices in Japanese companies ...180
7.5.3 Comparison of customer-supplier practices in traditional and Japanese companies ...181
7.5.5 Tier structure and the partnership ...183
7.5.6 Linking the theory with the real world ...185
7.6 PRINCIPLE 9: BUILD IN LEARNING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT185 7.6.1 Learning in the traditional organizations ...185
7.6.2 Lean learning in product development ...186
160
7.6.4 Linking the theory with the real world ...188
7.7 PRINCIPLE 10: BUILD A CULTURE TO SUPPORT EXCELLENCE AND RELENTLESS IMPROVEMENT ...189
7.7.1 High performance culture at Toyota ...190
7.7.2 Cultural ‘DNA’ at Toyota ...195
7.7.3 Linking the theory with the real world ...197
161 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 7. 1: Programme leadership and the customer-value definition process in a LPDS ...165 Figure 7. 2: Tier structure – keiretsu model ...183 Figure 7. 3: Three levels of culture ...192
LIST OF TABLES
Table 7. 1: LPDS - People Subsystem principles ...162 Table 7. 2: Compilation of a chief engineer´s profile ...168 Table 7. 3: Comparison of customer-supplier practices in traditional and Japanese companies ...182 Table 7. 4: Synopsis of cultural aspects at Toyota ...194
162 CHAPTER 7
LEAN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM – PEOPLE SUBSYSTEM
7.1 INTRODUCTION
The aim of Chapter 7 is to analyze the second part of Toyota´s LPDS model, the ‘People Subsystem’. This principle deals with the recruiting, training and development of employees – the so-called ‘soft’ elements of the organizational culture. Furthermore, it encompasses leadership, learning style and organizational structure. The LPDS People Subsystem is built on a foundation of teamwork, combined with continuous learning and
kaizen. The second part of the LPDS framework includes the following six principles:
Lean Product Development System
People Subsystem
5. Develop a Chief Engineer System to integrate development from start to finish 6. Organizeto balance functional expertise and cross-functional integration 7. Develop towering technical competence in all engineers
8. Fully integrate suppliers into the product development system 9. Build in learning and continuous improvement
10. Build a culture to support excellence and relentless improvement
Table 7. 1: LPDS - People Subsystem principles
Source: Researcher’s own construction based on Morgan & Liker (2006:18) In this chapter Principles 5 to 10 listed in Table 7.1 will be discussed and the relevant lean practices will be identified: this will contribute to accomplishing research objective 4. This chapter is divided into six main sections, each representing a separate principle.
The first section will explore Principle 5 and the Chief Engineer System, which is tightly related to Principle 1 and the definition of customer value. The connection between both these principles and the elements of the CES will be analyzed and visualized. Principle 6 focuses on the organizational structure enforcing the LPDS. For the success of any development it is crucial that a balance between strong functional expertise and cross-
163 functional integration be established. Principle 7 will deal with the practices Toyota applies in creating towering expertise in their engineers. More specifically, recruitment, training and development processes and relevant practices will be analyzed.
Principle 8 pays attention to suppliers as an integral part of the LPDS. Toyota’s customer-supplier practices and suppliers’ capabilities enabling them to become partners in the complex keiretsu system will be briefly analyzed. Next, Principle 9 considers the important role of organizational learning and the pursuit of continuous improvement in daily operations. Organizational learning builds on all the other principles and is required for ensuring continuous improvement. Various mechanisms and tools that support learning at Toyota will be discussed and the whole lean learning network will be synthesized.
Lastly, Principle 10 will focus on Toyota´s strong culture. The specific characteristics of Toyota’s unique high performance culture that support technical excellence will be identified and analyzed. The final paragraphs in this chapter will reflect on the diverse lean principles in Toyota´s cultural DNA in the context of the real world.
This chapter will be concluded with a selection of sets of constructs delivered from the theoretical underpinnings discussed in the next paragraphs. The constructs, operationalized from Principles 5 - 10 into statements and questions, will be added to the previous set identified in the last chapter. Based on these a questionnaire will be compiled for use in the empirical part of this study.
7.2 PRINCIPLE 5: DEVELOP A CHIEF ENGINEER SYSTEM TO INTEGRATE