196 THETOYOTAWAYFIELDBOOK
there was no response. The number of problems often overwhelms the leaders
because they are spread too thin.
One of the major differences between Toyota and other companies is the
support structure and how it’s utilized to effectively control problems and keep
the system operating. The roles and responsibilities of the team and group lead-
ers, and suggestions for selecting the right people, will be explained in Chapter
10. Suffice to say here that a critical aspect for the supporting roles is the “span
of control.” It is not possible for a leader to respond to the needs of severaldozen
people if the line or operation will be stopped each time a problem occurs.
Again this is an issue of compromise—adding the waste of extra indirect work-
ers who do not directly add value in order to eliminate or avoid much bigger
wastes. The Toyota Way is full of short-term investments that result in long-
term payoffs many times over.
Reflect and Learn from the Process
1. Take time to reflect on your organization’s culture regarding
building in quality and getting the job done right the first
time.
a. What is the cultural view of people and mistakes? Is it
that people make mistakes intentionally or are careless or
that there are “bad” employees? Listen to conversations
and make a mental note of the comments.
b. Do you believe that some problems are due to carelessness?
c. How will your thinking and actions need to change in
order to influence the organization?
d. Are people in the company expected to participate in the
identification and elimination of problems they detect?
2. During your “waste walks” pay particular attention to what
happens when a problem occurs.
a. How did you know there was a problem? Could you
(visually) see a deviation from a standard?
b. How did the person who detected the problem know it
was a problem? Does he or she have a standard for com-
parison or “just know” from “experience”?
c. How was the problem handled? Was the person able to
elevate the problem from the work site, or did the person
have to to find help?
d. Was there a defined response to the elevation of the
problem?