 The
Newsletter of Lean Manufacturing & Factory Science
March
25,
2003
www.strategosinc.com
A
Magical Moment with Dr. Shigeo Shingo
Ask
the Right Question
Once,
when walking through a Dresser factory with Dr.
Shigeo Shingo and a group of engineers, he stopped in front
of a punch press and watched two workers loading and unloading sheet
metal. He looked at his stopwatch and asked, "What
percentage of the time are they adding value and what percentage of the
time are they adding waste?"
One
engineer said, "100%, they are always working." Another said,
"Only 70%." Another said, "50%." Dr. Shingo laughed
and said, "Only 14%. It is only when
the press is bending the metal are we adding value the rest is
waste."
Then
the key moment came as Dr. Shingo asked, "What
can you do to improve the ratio?"
One
engineer spoke immediately, "You can put the blank sheets onto a
leveler, like dishes in a cafeteria, keeping the steel always at the
height of the press and reducing the bending time to pick up a
sheet." Another engineer said, "You can put a spring at the
back of the press to automatically reject the formed sheet after the
operation so the worker doesn't have to reach into the
press."
The
genius in Dr. Shingo was to understand what waste was and to stay
focused on its removal. And he knew that there was real
power in asking the right question and not in just telling
people what to do.
--
Norman Bodek
Historical
Note:
Dr.
Shigeo Shingo and Taiichi Ohno were partners in developing the Toyota
Production System, now known as Lean Manufacturing. Ohno provided the
vision and the drive; Dr. Shingo solved the practical problems and
translated Ohno's vision into reality. Norman Bodek first published
Shingo's work in English, brought him to the U.S. and was instrumental in
disseminating Toyota concepts. -QL
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