Open Letter to a Military Base Commander
Dear Commander:
Some Benefits of the Toyota Production System
Firstly, let me paint a picture of your future organization after implementing the expertise of the Toyota Production System. The advantages of a maniacal focus on process and system improvement:
- Above all, everyone in the Military System is directed toward success,
- Subsequently, the Military System attains Profound Knowledge of Military Processes, and
- A new winning culture is attained,
- Consequently, the Military System Seeks Perfection:
- At a rate of 11 ideas per employee per year,
- Management defines the direction of all these ideas,
- 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 improves to one of winning.
- 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.
- Firstly, everyone on the service or product line becomes a quality inspector through the use of andon:
- andon is the stoppage of a system when a defect is detected,
- Continuously remove defects,
- Toyota still receives about 800 andon stops per year per manufacturing plant,
- Toyota has a strategy to minimize the impact of stoppages.
- All smaller but often purchased items can be put into a double bin system to decrease inventory costs and increase availability,
- Implement the Pull Methodology wherever possible. It increases process speed and minimizes inventory waste,
- Implement Lean Six Sigma to:
- Certainly, increase process velocity,
- Decrease process costs, and
- Increase process quality.
- Success metrics are periodically reported to management,
- You attain Profound Knowledge of your whole Military System, and
- Your organization no longer worries about the competition but welcomes them. Your System will get stronger year after year.
Effort Performed Receives Credit
Apply for a Baldrige Performance Excellence Award for Process Excellence. Part of this process is self-reflection and part is support from the Baldridge Organization.
In Summary
The Toyota Production System is a 6+ Sigma System and there’s no reason how come your Military System cannot strive for that level of performance. Think about making progress toward a Malcolm Baldrige Award (indicating the realization of Operational Excellence, a competitive advantage).
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