Toyota Way Fieldbook : A Practical Guide for Implementing Toyota's 4Ps

also get a broader set of people involved in experiencing basic lean tools. And

you can solve hot problems and get management attention and resources. The

disadvantage is the very real risk of spreading resources too thin, in which case

nothing gets done well or in a timely manner. You must be aware of this and be

prepared to pull back on some projects if there’s evidence of poor quality work

or significant delays. In this case, pull back the plantwide activities and focus on

the model line.

Note the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle shown for each level of implementation

in Figure 19-10. Lean implementation is about more than getting money back

for an investment. Companies often invest considerable money in training and

consulting support, and top management asks for the infamous “business

case.” When can we expect a payback? If you run the numbers for this business

case, you’ll probably only get credit with accounting for tangible cost savings.

Mostly this means cutting heads. You might also get 10 cents on the dollar for

inventory savings. The continuous improvement team, or whatever they are

called, is now under the gun and transfers that to the consultants: “We need a

payback in one year.”

418 THETOYOTAWAYFIELDBOOK

Time

Level of Implementation

Extended

Enterprise

Enterprise

All Plants

Whole Plant

Value Streams

Process
Improvements

Plan DO CHECK ACT

Plan DO CHECK ACT

Plan DO CHECK ACT

Plan DO CHECK ACT

Plan DO CHECK ACT

Plan DO CHECK ACT

Years

Figure 19-10. Sample lean implementation approach