Toyota has set the current standard. The company has incorporated the Kaizen philosophy into its renowned Toyota Production System. TPS identifies seven types of waste:
- Waste of over production (largest waste)
- Waste of time on hand (waiting)
- Waste of transportation
- Waste of processing itself
- Waste of stock at hand
- Waste of movement
- Waste of making defective products
Kaizen and TPS principles are highly regarded manufacturing practices. You may know these ideas by more American terms, like Total Quality Management. These days, "Lean manufacturing" is all the rage, akin to Kaizen in that it seeks to avoid waste while boosting efficiency and providing value and quality to the customer. Just-in-Time manufacturing, as the name suggests, streamlines production while minimizing the expense of overstocked inventories.
Jargon aside, the Lean approach to manufacturing can be applied to other fields, too, because it promotes smart, practical and efficient ways of doing things. It simply makes good sense. This video describes the four major Lean principles:
With his orderly and intelligent approach to everything he did, Dad would have embraced these smart, common-sense principles, regardless of how you packaged and labelled them. He always looked for the best way to do things. Because he came up from the shop floor, Dad could identify and understand how to streamline operations almost instinctively. He was highly regarded for what Bristol president Murray Auld termed "his inventive and positive approach to tooling and production problems."
The blueprint I have mounted over my couch is testament to this. This full-scale engineering drawing is over 6 feet long by 3 feet high. It took Dad about a week to draft it, in 1967. It details his invention of a machine to drill holes in a component for the General Electric J85 jet engine. The J85 was an important, lucrative and long-term contract for Bristol.
Remember, back then Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machines were a long way off, and precision and accuracy were largely a function of the skilled machinists, not guaranteed by computer programs and automated equipment.
Consider the precision and tight tolerances required by a jet engine. The "Murray Fraser Automatic Index" (as he called it) proved its worth in many ways. It simplified and standardized machining, resulting in less waste, more precision, yet much faster production. Dad's hand-written note on the margin of the blueprint claims it reduced machining time from 21 minutes to 12 minutes per part. In manufacturing, that is a substantial time savings. No wonder Dad saved this blueprint as a keepsake. It was a proud achievement. And his inventiveness is the essence of Kaizen philosophy.
Another accepted factory or shop practice is the implementation of the 5S system. This is a more basic and simple set of rules that can be applied in all sorts of environments:
These workplace habits sound very familiar to those of us who were taught "a place for everything, and everything in its place." Mom had worked for a blind woman as a teen, and taught us to "tidy as you go." Heaven help you if you walked off with her scissors and did not return them to the top drawer of her sewing cabinet. And Dad? Well, Dad was Dad. One need only recall his machinist's toolbox or watch him scrape his plate clean and set his cutlery across it at precisely 45 degrees when done, to understand how neat and orderly he was.
Dad might never have heard the term Kaizen but he certainly was a practitioner. Below are recommendations he submitted to Lloyd Scales in 1954 intended to improve workflow and conditions in Bristol's Tool Build Department.
Dad was a smart manager, and knew that if you want changes made, you are wise to identify issues objectively and outline the solutions you want. Complaints alone just make superiors groan. They are not always qualified to solve problems.
Another set of recommendations exist in Dad's handwriting. Because they are undated and not typed, perhaps these pages are only draft notes.
Dad expected management to provide the right tools and resources needed for good workers to strut their stuff and do their jobs to the best of their ability. He believed that, given the right conditions, workers would step up. Dad was not a tough task master, and the Golden Rule was his guide. Like Mom, he was fair-minded and a born teacher who respected others. He earned their respect and loyalty in return.
It seems Lloyd Scales listened to Dad's recommendations, and accepted them in the helpful spirit in which they were intended. Below is a copy of Mr. Scales' own correspondence of June 11, 1958 to an unnamed superior, promoting many of Dad's wise suggestions.
Jargon aside, the Lean approach to manufacturing can be applied to other fields, too, because it promotes smart, practical and efficient ways of doing things. It simply makes good sense. This video describes the four major Lean principles:
With his orderly and intelligent approach to everything he did, Dad would have embraced these smart, common-sense principles, regardless of how you packaged and labelled them. He always looked for the best way to do things. Because he came up from the shop floor, Dad could identify and understand how to streamline operations almost instinctively. He was highly regarded for what Bristol president Murray Auld termed "his inventive and positive approach to tooling and production problems."
The blueprint I have mounted over my couch is testament to this. This full-scale engineering drawing is over 6 feet long by 3 feet high. It took Dad about a week to draft it, in 1967. It details his invention of a machine to drill holes in a component for the General Electric J85 jet engine. The J85 was an important, lucrative and long-term contract for Bristol.
Remember, back then Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machines were a long way off, and precision and accuracy were largely a function of the skilled machinists, not guaranteed by computer programs and automated equipment.
Consider the precision and tight tolerances required by a jet engine. The "Murray Fraser Automatic Index" (as he called it) proved its worth in many ways. It simplified and standardized machining, resulting in less waste, more precision, yet much faster production. Dad's hand-written note on the margin of the blueprint claims it reduced machining time from 21 minutes to 12 minutes per part. In manufacturing, that is a substantial time savings. No wonder Dad saved this blueprint as a keepsake. It was a proud achievement. And his inventiveness is the essence of Kaizen philosophy.
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| The Murray Fraser Automatic Index - engineering drawing |
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| Detail from blueprint |
- SORT: remove all unnecessary items
- SET IN ORDER: everything needs visual location indicators
- SCRUB: clean and inspect for problems with furniture/equipment
- STANDARDIZE: post visual standards and checklists in area
- SUSTAIN: Make workplace organization a regular activity.
Some add a sixth S, for Safety. The 5S system can be applied in any environment.
These workplace habits sound very familiar to those of us who were taught "a place for everything, and everything in its place." Mom had worked for a blind woman as a teen, and taught us to "tidy as you go." Heaven help you if you walked off with her scissors and did not return them to the top drawer of her sewing cabinet. And Dad? Well, Dad was Dad. One need only recall his machinist's toolbox or watch him scrape his plate clean and set his cutlery across it at precisely 45 degrees when done, to understand how neat and orderly he was.
Dad might never have heard the term Kaizen but he certainly was a practitioner. Below are recommendations he submitted to Lloyd Scales in 1954 intended to improve workflow and conditions in Bristol's Tool Build Department.
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| MF/hf - Dad was fortunate to have a wife with excellent editing and typing skills |
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| Listen to Employee #2795. He knows what he's talking about. |
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| "Morale -- human dignity, pride of workmanship, enthusiasm, and team spirit -- are not fostered by cracking the whip." |
It seems Lloyd Scales listened to Dad's recommendations, and accepted them in the helpful spirit in which they were intended. Below is a copy of Mr. Scales' own correspondence of June 11, 1958 to an unnamed superior, promoting many of Dad's wise suggestions.
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| Kaizen! |
Now, go clean your room, or as Mom would say, "consolidate things."
