GeneH
Stainless
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2006
- Location
- Pennsylvania
We hired a PhD student as a summer Intern. I'll him "PK".
PK was educated in India. During a talk last week my boss told me, "He has a degree in Lean Manufacture". We're talking of going Lean so I decided to ask him about it over lunch
Turns out he doesn't have a degree in such things, though he has a Master's Degree in Manufacturing Engineering, from a University in India. The school is located "right next door to a Toyota factory".
He did admit that he and members of his class helped to "optimize" Amazon.com's warehouse. I replied that they used to take "forever" to send books. "Maybe they're doing is faster, so hope so". He said they probably were better now.
We talked a bit about Lean. He said, "It's hard for Americans to embrace Lean. We have similar problems in India with it too. To achieve Lean you must have a change in the culture of the workplace. Lean is a state of mind as much as a way of doing things. You have to be vigilant for opportunities to reduce waste"
We talked a bit more. About Unions and about rigid "I got mine" managers. I admitted that many Americans were "not hungry". He agreed, though he said many Americans were eager to compete.
He wondered who the leaders were where I worked. I suggested a few people, but he said he wasn't sure. He's working on really advanced stuff, which I wasn't too interested in working on. My forte is more electronics and not bizarro materials stuff.
He told me that Toyota is a "wonderful place to work". He has classmates who work there now. They are "very happy" to be there. He said that the lines "roll off one car every fifty five seconds". He said that the emphasis is upon fully using everyone, all of their skills and enthusiasm.
He said we had a good chance of going Lean where i work. I sure hope so, considering who we're competing against these days.
Gene
PK was educated in India. During a talk last week my boss told me, "He has a degree in Lean Manufacture". We're talking of going Lean so I decided to ask him about it over lunch
Turns out he doesn't have a degree in such things, though he has a Master's Degree in Manufacturing Engineering, from a University in India. The school is located "right next door to a Toyota factory".
He did admit that he and members of his class helped to "optimize" Amazon.com's warehouse. I replied that they used to take "forever" to send books. "Maybe they're doing is faster, so hope so". He said they probably were better now.
We talked a bit about Lean. He said, "It's hard for Americans to embrace Lean. We have similar problems in India with it too. To achieve Lean you must have a change in the culture of the workplace. Lean is a state of mind as much as a way of doing things. You have to be vigilant for opportunities to reduce waste"
We talked a bit more. About Unions and about rigid "I got mine" managers. I admitted that many Americans were "not hungry". He agreed, though he said many Americans were eager to compete.
He wondered who the leaders were where I worked. I suggested a few people, but he said he wasn't sure. He's working on really advanced stuff, which I wasn't too interested in working on. My forte is more electronics and not bizarro materials stuff.
He told me that Toyota is a "wonderful place to work". He has classmates who work there now. They are "very happy" to be there. He said that the lines "roll off one car every fifty five seconds". He said that the emphasis is upon fully using everyone, all of their skills and enthusiasm.
He said we had a good chance of going Lean where i work. I sure hope so, considering who we're competing against these days.
Gene