Robert "Doc" Hall is Inducted!

Everyone here at Productivity Press was quite happy to hear and read that Doc Hall was inducted into IndustryWeek's prestigious Manufacturing Hall of Fame. I can say, without exaggeration, that the understanding of Lean methodologies and the growing popularity of Lean implementations and Lean culture could not have been imagined without Doc. He published his first groundbreaking book, Zero Inventories, in 1983.

I first met Doc Hall about 10 or years ago at an Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) annual conference. Doc has not only been a wealth of knowledge since, but his engaging personality and quick-witted demeanor has always made a novice like myself feel welcome to ask any questions or seek insight on any particular topic. Doc has an uncanny knack to say a lot with a little, and always offered clear and concise explanations. What often appeared complex to me was often neatly simplified after hearing Doc speak on the topic.

Back in 2009, I had the pleasure to assist in the development and publication of Doc's book titled Compression: Meeting the Challenges of Sustainability Through Vigorous Learning Enterprises. This forward-thinking book discusses how we will have to adapt to do more with less as demand increases while resources dwindle and become higher-priced commodities. He shows how the Toyota model, the most successful and enduring manufacturing system ever implemented, can be applied and adapted to help identify roots of problems, eliminate waste, and create a new vision along with the path to realizing that vision. I hope all the readers of this blog will join me in congratulating Doc on this great honor.

Happy holidays to all!

Industry Week Article Overstates Progress at the Big Three

Industry Week’s current issue is featuring a story about the progress GM, Ford and Chrysler are making in becoming lean. The sub-headline on the article is “Continuous improvement has taken hold in Detroit -- and not a moment too soon.”

But has it? I question the article’s conclusion because I believe it misses a major point.

The article, by Josh Cable, notes how quality and productivity have improved at the Big Three, basing that conclusion partly on figures from the most recent Harbour Report, which measures productivity. I’ve quoted the Harbour Report myself.

Additional information in the article notes the increased emphasis the Detroit automakers are putting on having flexible operations that can adapt quickly to changes in the marketplace.

All of this is true, and yes, progress has been made. But there is a word missing from the article that goes to the heart of a lean transformation.

Culture.

Applying lean techniques to make your processes more efficient and flexible is all well and good. It does produce benefits.

But to become a truly lean organization, you need to transform your culture. You need to become an organization where everyone, from the corner office to the shop floor, thinks in lean terms, never viewing the job as done, always striving for perfection, and endlessly pursuing continuous improvement.

Do the Detroit car companies think that way? Perhaps some people in those organizations do. But I am not convinced that any of the Big Three has achieved the kind of enterprise-wide cultural transformation that would put them in the same league as Toyota.

I hope they make progress in that regard. But I’m not holding my breath.