that there are ‘extra’ people in my operation?” The fact is, there is a consider-
able amount of waste in everyoperation (including Toyota), and efforts to
reduce the waste will result in a reduction of needed resources. In this case, the
first objective is to build a process capable of meeting the customer’s needs
without overtime. Successive improvements may be necessary to create excess
people so the leadership structure can be created.
After the initial establishment of standardized work, it’s possible to get a
clear picture of the next possible improvement. Ask yourself, “If I could keep
the same number of people I currently have, but by changing the structure and
how they’re utilized I could achieve 25 percent improvement in productivity,
would that be desirable?” This would be the goal of establishing the leadership
structure. Not just to have team leaders because Toyota does, but to create a
structure that allows you to achieve improved results in safety, quality, produc-
tivity, and cost.
We have never seen an operation that did not have enough people within
the existing staff to create a leadership structure (and we have seen quite a few
operations). This is the power of waste elimination and standardized work. You
must continue to make improvements until you can consolidate the waste and
create the opportunity. When confronted with this challenge, the Japanese sen-
sei would often say, “No problem.” This did not mean that it would not take
considerable effort to accomplish; it simply meant that the amount of waste in
any system is so great that it is always possible to do.
Selecting Leaders
In Japan, Toyota employees that enter the company at the team member
(hourly) level in production will remain in that position for a minimum of 10 to
15 years. Then, if they’re qualified and interested, they would advance to the
team leader rank. Another 10 to 15 years as team leader provides the skills nec-
essary to be a group leader. This is the final position for many, although a few
rise to the rank of general foreman (roughly equivalent to an assistant manager).
The general foreman is responsible for supervising and coordinating activities
of group leaders. It is rare (though it does happen) for someone from the manu-
facturing ranks to cross the division to the engineering or upper management side.
This system works with a company that is mature in the Toyota Way, but
most companies starting out on the lean journey do not have the luxury of this
much time. And even Toyota, outside Japan, often cannot retain employees long
enough for this slow gestation period. During the start-up of the Georgetown
plant and other Toyota plants outside of Japan it was not possible to take this
much time to develop leaders prior to start-up. The new leaders required more
direct mentoring until they developed capability of their own.