Comments on: Toyota: 97% Efficient

By: eraser’s blog » Blog Archive » Toyota: 97% Efficient

eraser’s blog » Blog Archive » Toyota: 97% Efficient — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:32:13 +0000

[...] They are the best. Why then do they not aim for 100%? Someone asked her this question. … lssacademy.com/2008/03/16/toyota-97-efficient/ Lean Six Sigma Academy [...]

By: Ron Pereira

Ron Pereira — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:23:14 +0000

@ Mark – Yeah, hopefully folks begin to catch on… else the gap between them and Toyota will continue to widen.

@ Ian – I like the idea of the stretch while also allowing people to fail as well. It’s these failures that make us better.

Thanks for comments everyone.

By: Ian Machan

Ian Machan — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:54:46 +0000

Your discovery mirrors the approach at a site in the UK that looks for a management team to be rewarded for achieving 95% of their plan, allowing them some leeway to fail, but encouraging them to aim for their “stretch target” that may be 120%. Allowing room for failure, can encourage the behavious that lead to greater, later success.

By: mark graban

mark graban — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:21:34 +0000

I recall seeing (last year) an article about a Ford plant that had andon cords, but workers were afraid to pull them because they would get yelled at for stopping the line. Can’t believe they are still struggling with the culture and management system after decades of studying Toyota.

By: Ron Pereira

Ron Pereira — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:20:00 +0000

Thanks for the comment E.D. If anyone else has past or current ties to the Big 3 I am interested to hear your thoughts on line stoppages.

By: E.D.

E.D. — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:50:18 +0000

I used to work for GM. What you described perfectly explains how things used to be. Stopping the line was not a popular thing to do. NOt sure if it still works like this but if I were a betting man I’d say it does.