Kaizen's at work?

[BLU LUNCH]

I work for the largest hand tool manufactor in the US in our shop I make Torx and Ball-end hex keys. It's actully a 2 part operation 1 machine profilates{turns} and the second stamps the brand names {Allen,Craftsman,KD and others} and then bends the 90 degree angle, running sizes from.050 to 9/16 and torx from t-6 to t-55 we do alot of set-ups well managment said we waste to much time setting up. They contracted a Japennese firm for a week to perform a Kaizen and they say they can reduce ie. set-up and other tasks by 59/64. They flew 2 persons in from Japan for a week to speed-up set-ups and reduce downtime and increase productivity. On Monday they just wacthed us the next day they came up with the most stupid ideas I ever heard. First thing they did was they said we spend too much time looking for the proper tool to loosen the screws that hold the tooling in place.....so they had t-handles welded into every cap head screws in the machine now it looks like a porupine. The machine is enclose with a plexiglass enclosure with 2 doors in front...2 doors waste time they had welded the door assembly to 1 piece. They did more stupid stuff but I won't get in to it....Has anybody ever have the pleasure of having to put up with the Kaisen company before they work all over the US. Myself and alot of the people that I work with felt insulted that there was not a single person in the US that could of helped us...What makes me mad is our company spent over 25 million dollars several years ago fighting Stanley to have Made In America standards passed in to law it now states that 90% of materials and labor has to be from the US..........

 

[1730V]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

What? Japanese stupid? Cannot be? Why do we buy everything made by them?

 

[12Footer]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

They sure have a twisted view of who we really are.<br /><br /><br />

 

[12Footer]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

 

[Parrott_head]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

I work for a large manufacturer that was bought out by a huge Japanese business years ago. The movie "Gung-Ho" with Michael Keaton fits us pretty well.<br /><br />They have some good management ideas and some that don't seem to work to well.<br /><br />We have a Kaizan crew that goes around and does "contiunues improvement" to the equipment.<br /><br />They never get input from the operators or maintenance about their ideas. They never update the electrical diagrams or even post on the machines what they have done to it.<br /><br />We have litereally spent two hours or more troubleshooting a machine just to find out that it has been "Kaizaned" and now it won't work.<br /><br />They finally made them go through engineering for approval and it has helped a lot.<br /><br />I have seen their welders weld by squinting real hard at the arc of the stinger. No hood, no googles.

 

[DJ]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

But, we all buy their products, no questions asked.<br /><br />How many know that Chrysler (Dodge) is wholly owned by the Germans (Daimler/Benz)? <br /><br />How many know that Nissan is allied/owned, by/with the French government?<br /><br />Both, our real friends? <br /><br />Where's your money going?

 

[Parrott_head]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

Nissan is owned by the French?

 

[DJ]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

Nissan/French connection. Here you go.<br /><br /> http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/COMPANY/PROFILE/RENAULT/index.html

 

[fatpratt1996]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

good one 12 footer

 

[12Footer]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

<br />"I give my life and my company, and this is the thanks I get"

 

[12Footer]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

<br />"Or is that dust in Dump bin?"

 

[JB]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

It's ironic that the Japanese learned management efficiency from the Americans, who knew how but wouldn't use it.

 

[Rickfifty]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

"I work for the largest hand tool manufactor in the US " Blu Lunch. Why are they asking the Japanese for advice? I've never even SEEN a Japanese hand tool!

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

I've never understood why management has to hire experts to do their job. Cant they think for themselves on how to fix things.<br /><br />Also, why do we trust bozo management that has to hire consultants to do their job, to hire good consultants? How would they know the consulants are good, if they cant even come up with any ideas themselves.<br /><br />Needless to say, I am really dissapointed in most managers.<br /><br />Oh, yea, I love the engrish.<br /><br />Ken

 

[DJ]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

JB,<br /><br />I find your response rather flippant. Who said we are not using those management efficiencies?<br /><br />We have issues.<br /><br />1. Unions. They demand wages three times what the "imports" are paying, with American assemblers.<br /><br />2. Health care. The American companies have a huge "legacy" of of older workers eating up health care monies. Not to mention retirement. The imports have NO retired American workers-YET!<br /><br />3. Litigation prevention. The American companies have to pay huge amounts of money to insure against or pay lawsuit windfalls. Imports have little to no assets here in the US, thus they are lawsuit protected.<br /><br />Not a level playing field.

 

[JB]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

Sorry if it seemed flip, DJ. Didn't mean it that way.<br /><br />Management strategies like "Participative Management", "Management By Objectives", "Zero Defects", "Critical Path Technique" and several integrations of these and other changes from the boss-worker bee structure so common in the world of the 1950s and 60s were all developed by US businesses and business schools. What they had in common was integration of the wisdom of front-line productive employees with the leadership of management.<br /><br />I taught a number of seminars on some of these and other "new approaches" in the 70s. Some companies adopted change and prospered, but many couldn't overcome the adversarial relationship between the castes (management vs. labor) and little changed. <br /><br />Then it became clear that Japanese industry was doing something different and getting better results.<br /><br />It is much easier to fill a vacuum than to displace tradition. Japanese industry had no traditions to displace, so they accepted these approaches (and others) and put them into practice in state-of-the-art facilities.<br /><br />Soon it was the Japanese who were viewed as the experts on strategies developed at Harvard.<br /><br />US industry has caught up and passed Japanese industry in productivity and technology, but the perception is still that Japanese know better.<br /><br />The example that Blu Lunch offers demonstrates that at least one US company hasn't learned that "how to do it better" is in the minds of the people doing it now. If they ask, listen and trust they will find that out for a lot less than megabux.

 

[12Footer]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

It's a new day with the fed, guys. I hold-out a lot of hope, that this administration will bring back a lot of buisnesses to the shores that once spawned them. They're planning tax incentives, cap award cielings, easing restrictions and penalties on expansion ,employee hiring, and benifits demands.<br />I have no clue what,where, when,how, yet that is in nearly every speach by Bush involving the nation's economy since he wasa elected in 2000.<br />Maybee now that there is a new majority in the legislative branch, things can procede.<br />One thing is for sure...If we don't do something and soon, we best learn to speak Japanese and German.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

RRRRRRR-----SOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! <br /><br />SIG------- HIALE!!!!!!!!!!! <br /><br />That's all FOLKS!!!!!!!!

 

[pjc]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

DJ to blame the Unions is shortsighted IMO. Be mindful that I can negotiate for whatever I desire, but Manglement must accept those terms. A Labor Agreement is a legally binding contract negotiated to terms and conditions acceptable to BOTH Management ("The Company") and Represented Labor. <br />To blame business ills on Union wages is both irresponsible as well as a demonstration of the lack of understanding of what are the true expenses the American business endures. <br /><br />An example would be to solely blame COE as well as Executive pay as the root cause for job outsourcing. Thats ridiculous. Or a companies desire to prop up its stock share price or dividend to solely satisfy investors while compromising product quality and employee wages.

 

[DJ]

Re: Kaizen's at work?

JB,<br /><br />You are correct. It is a percption, not a reality. That is what is so maddening.<br /><br />You talk to people and they complain about NAFTA with a house full of foreign products.<br /><br />pjc,<br /><br />I would never blame a CEO for the entire failure of an enterprise, yet the vast majority of the public would. They don't know any better.<br /><br />Management does not have to accept whatever the union demands. They just pack up and move it elsewhere. Lee Iococca was a pro at that when Chrysler bought AMC.