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Writer's pictureRichard Kunst

The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results

These 14 principles are the actual foundation of the Toyota Production System (TPS) practiced by Toyota plants around the world and copied as best they can by their suppliers and ‘wanna be competitors’. The 14 Principles are divided into four categories – each beginning with “P” – hence many have referred to this as the “4 – P” approach which consist of “P1: Philosophy” ~ “P2: Process” ~ “P3: People/Partners” ~ “P4: Problem Solving”.



Principle 1: Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy – even at the expense of short-term goals.


Principle 2: Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface


Principle 3: Use “Pull” systems to avoid over production


Principle 4: Level out the workload (Heijunka)


Principle 5: Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right the first time


Principle 6: Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment


Principle 7: Use visual control so no problems are hidden


Principle 8: Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes


Principle 9:Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it to others


Principle 10: Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy


Principle 11: Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them to improve


Principle 12: Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (Genchi Genbutsu)


Principle 13: Make decisions slowly by consensus: Implement decisions rapidly (Nemasashi)


Principle 14: Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (Hansei) and continuous improvement (Kaizen)


No methods or formulas can be devised to substitute for human judgment and leadership.”

Henry Ford, Moving Forward, 1930, p. 146


THOUGHT STARTERS FOR CHANGE


Top 10 Reasons for Disappointing Results

•Don’t have top managements full and visible support & commitment

•Don’t have a plan – no leadership

•Lack goals and a clear focus – no end in view

•Don’t involve people meaningfully in decisions – no ownership possible without involvement

•Lack a “No Blame” environment – no honesty

•Don’t solve problems systematically – no process

•Don’t “Walk their talk” – reward wrong behaviors

•Impatient to get results – lasting change takes time

•hold unrealistic expectations – no achievement & therefore no motivation

•Don’t understand the effort required – no empathy


Top 10 Reasons for Successful Initiatives

•Have a vision & a plan – and then act

•Management committed to customer success as they make the transition from task master to coach

•Treat each other as customers – jointly set standards

•Build a “No-Blame” environment of trust & respect

•Use common problem-solving process – everyone!

•Match Reward Systems to goals & objectives

•Focus on processes not people – measure, measure

•Practice open, full communication - straight talk & generous listening

•Grow & empower folks every day – mgmt challenge

•Treat training as a means to an end… then train, train, and train again when the ‘end’ is clear

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