of the most complex problems, many of those tools are overkill. A common
theme within the Toyota Way is that the method or tool is not as important as
the thought process and the skill of the user. The development of an action plan
follows this same theme. The most important objective is to develop consistent
understanding of and alignment to the plan. Resources will surely be wasted and
results minimized if the plan is unclear or if everyone is not aligned to the task.
Within Toyota the term “countermeasure” is used to describe the proposed
solution. Toyota’s philosophy is that problems are never truly “solved.” The
countermeasure merely mitigates the effect of the problem. Countermeasures
are divided into two groups:
- Short-term countermeasures
- Long-term countermeasures
It’s generally understood within Toyota that most countermeasures will be
implemented quickly (within a week), and therefore the definition of short
term, and long term refers to the overall permanencyof the countermeasure. The
primary understanding is that a short-term countermeasure refers to one that is
temporary, a “Band-Aid” that will provide temporary relief until a more effec-
tive or extensive solution can be implemented. In some circumstances the tem-
porary solution becomes permanent if a more effective solution is not found.
The idea is to always consider an immediateaction that will provide instant
improvement of the problem situation.
In the case of a quality problem, for example, if the root cause is determined
to be a tooling issue, and the tooling needs extensive modification to correct the
issue (a long-term countermeasure), short-term countermeasures would be uti-
lized to both reduce the creation of defects and ensure that any resulting defects
are not passed to the next process (in-station process controls and error proof-
ing—poka yoke). In the sawing example from chapter 15 where production out-
put was a problem and cleaning time was an important cause, a short-term tem-
porary countermeasure was implemented to minimize lost production time due
to cleaning. Temporary workers were assigned to clean during planned line
stop times such as breaks and lunch. This could be done immediately, and the
benefits collected, while waiting for implementation of permanent long-term
countermeasures.
Effective use of both short-term and long-term countermeasures provides
Toyota with immediate benefits, and at least minimal relief from the symptoms
(like an aspirin), while the “ultimate” solutions are implemented. In many cases
the ultimate solution is difficult, or not possible given current capability (such as
the robot failure discussed in chapter 14); much time can be wasted, and benefits
lost, while waiting for an “ultimate” solution. Toyota places extremely high impor-
tance on protecting the customer (the next process in the flow) from any problem.
This concept makes the implementation of short-term countermeasures critical.
Chapter 17. Plan-Do-Check-Act 365