add value and support a well-thought-out and time-tested process. Typically,
the process is done well manually before it is automated. The technology sup-
ports human decision making—it does not replace it. And the technology should
not be used as an excuse to stop thinking and lose a focus on kaizen. Instead,
the technology should support people in waste reduction.
Keep Technology in Perspective
Toyota is an engineering-driven company, and deep down it is a technology-
based company. Innovative product and process technology is at the core of
Toyota’s success. But people are at the core in creating and successfully imple-
menting innovative product and process technology.
The case below illustrates how “the process and people make the technology
valuable.” In this case a competitor we will call AmCar got considerably ahead
of Toyota in technology for automating product and process design. Presentations
that featured things that Toyota was not capable of doing made even Toyota a bit
nervous. But the reality was far different from the hype. AmCar was not using
the technology effectively and was falling further behind Toyota in development
lead time, problems in new vehicle launch, and in quality. It was only after
AmCar hired former Toyota employees who taught them the Toyota Way of
using this technology that they began to make some positive strides.
So, again, though technology plays a critical role at Toyota, it must always
be kept in context. Technology is a critical piece of the system, but the system is
not just how pieces of technology fit together. The system includes the process
of doing the work and the people who work in the process. It is not only a mat-
ter of what technology is selected, but of how the overall system is designed
and implemented. And it is important enough to carefully plan and consider in
the context of your broader philosophy of how to run the business.
Case Study: The Process and People Make the
Technology Valuable
In the early 1990s the U.S. automaker we’ll call AmCar began the drive
toward using manufacturing simulations in the product development
stage. The goal was to use computer technology to help design products
that optimized the manufacturing system. Several software packages
were available at the time. Delmia began to emerge as the leader in
the design software race with their CATIA package, and AmCar made
a commitment to this technology. There were many modules available
in Delmia’s software suite, but AmCar took a product-development-
centered approach, focusing on design packaging—how the parts fit
together without interferences in the space available. For manufacturing,Chapter 9. Make Technology Fit 213