114 THETOYOTAWAYFIELDBOOK
lowest cost. This work standard is then used as either a club to beat employees for
nonperformance or as a carrot to entice them to exceed the standard (as in pay-
for-performance derivatives of this method). Since these ideas are so ingrained in
the minds of management and employees, the establishment of standardized
work as defined by Toyota can be one of the greatest challenges during lean
implementation. It is extremely difficult for all parties to let go of the current
process because everyone has learned how to survive or thrive under that system.
Managers fear that the Toyota Way will allow employees to run amuck, deciding
their own work methods and therefore not working hard enough. They also fear
the loss of a measurement system that they have learned how to manipulate and
control to achieve success. Everyone is familiar with this conversation:
Production manager (to supervisor):“The earned hours are down in your depart-
ment. What are you going to do to get them back up?”
Supervisor:“We had some tough jobs coming through the shop, which hurt
our hours. We are going to come in Saturday to work on some of the easy
jobs to get them out. That will help.”
Production Manager:“Okay. I have to report to the plant manager on this, so
I’m going to tell him that the product mix has not been good and that it
should get better after this week.”
Clearly this is a misguided focus on the measurement and not a focus on cre-
ating a truly efficient process that will consistently deliver performance results.
Notice that the supervisor will work on “easy jobs” to get the numbers up. A part
is a part according to the numbers. But are the easy jobs the parts that the customer
wants? That seems secondary. It is a shame how much time and effort is wasted
trying to “make the numbers” rather than trying to create the best possible process.
Management is caught in a vicious cycle and can’t seem to break free because their
own performance is measured on their ability to deliver the desired numbers.
Objective of Standardization
The traditional manufacturing model has an initial focus on achieving the lowest
possible unit cost and then creating work method standards to achieve the cost
objective (Figure 6-1). This model considers individual efforts and “cost per piece,”
while the Toyota Way seeks to maximize the entire system and considers “total
cost” via waste reduction as the primary indicator of success. The traditional
method utilizes time and motion studies to determine the most “efficient” work
procedure, and a “standard” time is allotted for the designated task. Ty pically,
an operator is observed and the work elements and times are recorded. This is
not necessarily the best method; it is just the method that the operator happens
to be using when being observed. This process creates a “false standard” that is
then utilized to determine “efficiency.”