Open Letter to the Military Base Commander
Dear Base Commander:
Firstly, let me paint a picture of your future Military System after implementing the expertise of the Toyota Production System. The advantages of a maniacal focus on processes:
- Certainly, everyone in the Military System is directed toward success,
- Subsequently, the System focuses on the value produced,
- Suppliers work to create a just-in-time system where they can decrease your costs,
- Above all, it constantly requires suppliers to increase Sigma,
- All smaller but often purchased items can be put into a double bin system to decrease inventory costs and increase availability,
- Seek Perfection:
- Most importantly, at a rate of 11 ideas per warfighter per year,
- Management focuses ideas in a defined system benefiting direction,
- Toyota will not expand to a new plant unless they have a critical mass of employees that know this procedure,
- This is how come no competitor will ever catch Toyota, and
- Your culture changes to one of winning.
Military System Suppliers
- Above all, organize your suppliers into at least 7 categories:
- Tier 1: Strategic and deliver Just-in-Time,
- Tier 2: Strategic and meeting Sigma Performance Requirements,
- Tier 3: Strategic and desired Just-in-Time deliveries,
- Tier 4: Strategic and not meeting Sigma Performance Requirements,
- Tier 5: Not Strategic and Just-in-Time,
- Tier 6: Not strategic and not meeting Sigma Requirements, and
- Tier 7: Not Strategic and meeting Sigma Requirements.
Constantly write Supplier contracts that require Sigma Improvement.
Lean Six Sigma
- Implement Lean Six Sigma to:
- Above all, increase process velocity,
- Consequently, decrease process costs, and
- In addition, improve process quality.
- Report success metrics to management, and
- Subsequently, your Military System gets stronger and more powerful, year after year.
Finally, The Toyota Production System is a 6+ Sigma System and there’s no reason your Military System cannot strive for that level of performance. Think about making progress towards a Malcolm Baldrige Award (indicating the realization of Operational Excellence, a competitive advantage). The above list is but a short summary of how your future Military System will function.
Sincerely,
Jim FitzGerald
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
844-575-9210
Apply the Tools of The 6+ Sigma Toyota Production System to the Military System.