Easy

“The objective of the Toyota Production System is to make someone’s work easier.”

Akio Toyoda

It is a quote we should reflect on more deeply.

In this quote, Mr. Toyoda uses the symbol Raku 【楽】.

This symbol originally represented music and its instruments. It resembles a musical instrument with many ringing parts and a base to hold onto. This symbol represents the lost sixth foundational book of Confucianism, which is believed to have focused on music for ceremonial purposes.

From a musical perspective, it came to mean fun. It’s fun because things happen the way you expect. It’s fun, so you want to do it again. It’s fun, so you hope for more happy moments. From this idea of “fun,” it also came to mean “easy.” It is easy to repeat. It’s simple. It doesn’t involve pain or difficulty.

When we think about the opposite of Raku, it is “difficulty.” And what makes production difficult? We believe that is Muda.

Let’s examine overproduction.

When we produce more than the customer's requirements in terms of timing, quantity, and type, we need to store the excess goods. Storage isn't an easy task, especially for overproduced products. Usually, there isn't a designated space for these units. (If there is, we will ask why you have such space.) You need to create a room. Many have rushed to build more warehouses, which occupy more than half of the operational space. These spaces are not free and require ongoing maintenance. Often, we cram items into these areas, making material handling a challenging task. There's a game called “Sokoban,” which translates to “warehouse guard.” In this game, you need to move materials around to fit them into a specific spot. It's a fantastic game, but I'm not sure I want to play it for eight hours a day, five days a week.

Once you place a material, another dark side of the game begins: searching. According to the data, the material is somewhere in the warehouse. It indicates a specific location, but it isn't there. Maybe someone moved it during the “Sokoban” game. Perhaps it is mislabeled or has lost its label. You need to find it under time pressure. It's not a fun environment to work in.

Amid warehouse chaos, we face management nightmares. The production volume seems sufficient, but customers complain about not receiving the exact items they ordered. Due to a mismatch between what is produced and what was ordered, you are working overtime and on weekends. There are many meetings and planning sessions, but ultimately, they hope that production and demand will match. The temptation to add more capacity exists, as if that is the solution to this mess.

Stop overproducing.

A simple, clear solution suggested by the Toyota Production System. Why work hard and make things more complicated by overproducing? Why not produce precisely what the demand requires, in terms of timing, quantity, and variety? If there is no demand, stop. Don’t pretend there’s something to do.

Most overproduction results from volume-focused KPIs that are overly simple. These KPIs overlook the fact that demand is driven by customers and the market, not just arbitrary numbers. Ohno mentioned Kadouritsu 【稼働率】, which refers to the percentage of capacity used to meet demand in a Just-in-Time manner. There is a homonym, 【可動率】, which means availability. Availability should be 100%, but not for Kadouritsu. We should improve our operations to make them more adaptable to customer needs. (Demand constantly changes. If you design an operation that matches a specific demand exactly, it might be too rigid to adapt, which can be costly in today’s environment.)

The other Muda also makes work harder. Waiting is painful. Transportation is difficult. Overprocessing is tough. Inventory becomes a nightmare. Movement causes fatigue. The most straightforward task is producing defect-free products. Why keep these Muda? Eliminate them. That shows respect for humans.

Let’s make someone’s work easy.