The Toyota Way seeks to identify and remove obstacles on the path to perfection. This philosophy is very much rooted in the Japanese cultural desire to seek perfection in every activity. As we have shown in Chapter 3, the Toyota Way is a cyclical process of achieving stability, standardizing practices, and then continually squeezing the process in order to expose the obstacles (seen as system weakness). Human beings tend to seek comfort and avoid discomfort. The Toyota Way is not a natural behavior. The Toyota philosophy relies on the "system", and adhering to the concepts of the system will force people supporting the system into uncomfortable situations. The choices presented then are to either remove the obstacles, or to fail. For this reason, possessing the skills of solving problems and the ability to continuously improve are crucial to survival.
This process serves as the framework for most other aspects of the Toyota Production System (TPS) and its product development system, and is largely responsible for the tremendous success Toyota has achieved. Toyota can generate greater results, with less effort, in a shorter period of time more consistently than any of its competitors. This process provides a structure to align resources effectively, to insure mutual understanding of the significance of the issue, to clearly outline the necessity and benefit of resolving the issue, and, with a very high degree of accuracy, to predict the actual result.
The Problem-Solving methodology is a skill that runs deep and strong at all levels of the organization within Toyota and across all functions from manufacturing to purchasing to sales and the rest of Toyota. The basic method is learned in training classes, but the real learning comes from daily practical application, continued use, and evaluation by others in the organization. The methodology is fairly simple technically and does not require complex statistical analysis tools. Because of it's simplicity the method can be embraced and executed by all Toyota personnel regardless of education or previous experience. Toyota uses advanced statistical analysis in certain situations, but the day-to-day use of the process is straightforward. This method may appear too simplistic to individuals trained as Black Belts in the Six Sigma process, but there is an elegant beauty in this simplicity. For one thing, the majority of issues encountered by most associates on a daily basis require only basic analytical skills. More complex techniques are unnecessary and often confuse people who have a problem, but are not trained in the methods. In addition, the process at Toyota can be applied very rapidly, while Six Sigma and other similar processes tend to be lengthy and laborious.
This process may occur in a very short time frame (less than one minute) or may take months or even years. From the moment an operator discovers a problem on the line and signals the need for support (by pulling the Andon cord as described in Chapter 8), until the problem is controlled and corrected, may be less than one minute. At the other end of the spectrum is long-term strategy development, preparing a new product launch, planning for process improvement, and policy deployment.
Calling this process "Problem-Solving" may be somewhat of a misnomer, as the process goes well beyond the basics of solving problems. This method encompasses a critical and logical thinking process. It requires thorough evaluation and reflection (genchi gembutsu and hansei), careful consideration of various options, and a carefully considered course of action, all leading towards measurable and sustainable goals.
With repeated use and practice, this process becomes second nature and is used in virtually every situation in which improvement is desired, when new or modified processes are added, and even as a framework for the development of a lean implementation process. These are just a few of the situations for which this process can be used: