CII Communique - October, 2010

qualityGifu Autobody Company Ltd, Nagoya enabled the visitors to see each workstation in operation,the Kanban pooling system between the factories and theirsuppliers with respect to the material supply system, theAndon system, and the Hijunka box- a visual schedulingtool for level production. items produced in the shopfloor. These defective partsare exhibited and then used for a detailed analysis soas not to produce such defects again.Seminar on Lean Production SystemThe mission members were exposed to the Japanese wayof production and how Lean Production is implementedin the companies. Mr. Takashi Asano President, JMAConsulting Inc, Japan, gave a brief on JMAC and theLean philosophy. He explained how to develop a lean“mind-to-waste” to reduce life time loss, and stressedthe importance of trusting/respecting people. He alsodiscussed the Go & See ‘Gemba-ism’ for making anyimprovement, and the role of team work towards attaininga common vision.Mr Kenji Mitsumoto, in the session on World ClassManufacturing through Lean Production and Monodzukuri- a Japanese production way, gave in - depth informationon Jidoka and other lean concepts, and in-buildingquality in the manufacturing process.The essential points for successful implementation of LeanProduction system, he said, are to have a clear road map,start from an easily visible area where everybody canvisualize before and after, and involve people. Managersshould be role models in following the systems, he said.Members were also exposed to the power of Monodzukuriinnovation and how it spreads throughout the manufacturingfrom development to production and distribution. The 4key elements of Monodzukuri Innovation, which buildscompetitiveness of companies, are:1. Higher cost effectiveness for implementation:Orientation towards low cost, flexible automation,workerless shopfloor2. Increasing quality strength: Quality initiatives andhigher quality for customer delight features3. Higher product development capability: Form aproduct development perspective and creation ofuniqueness through products, giving a high contributionto turnover and income4. Higher HR capability: Human ResourceDevelopmentFEEDBACKSeiji Honda, General Manager, Nissan Oppama plant, addressingCII mission membersThe visit to Nippon Steel gave a good insight into theirmanufacturing practices. The new learning was theMonozukuri concept. The visit to the Toyota shop floorwas great to learn and see the actual implementationof the Toyota Production System.Ganesh Iyer, Director, Six Sigma Alchemy (P) LtdThe emphasis of Toyota’s ‘Customer First’ and itsevolving HR practices,the Global Training & IntegrationProgramme of Denso and the low cost yet effectiveassembly line of Gifu Auto were the salient takeawaysof the Study Mission. The selection of companiescovering different aspects of manufacturing was verygood for learning.G Sundararaman, AVP Quality, JCB India LtdLessons in Kanban, Kaizan, Automation and WasteElimination were further assimilated during thisMission. The Plant visit to GIFU Auto was veryinteresting.D Y Leo Michael, Manager - New Projects & Development, TitanIndustries Ltd. (Jewellery Division)The Mission gave an opportunity to observe theJapanese work culture and standardization of workby breaking them into small work elements. We alsosaw waste elimination in a different light, especiallyin Nippon Steel.Mandar Puranik, AGM - Plant Logistics Group, Tata Motors LtdWe were able to see world class manufacturingfacilities and the latest techniques adopted forimprovements, visual communication, training methodsand eco friendly approach in Manufacturing. The useof the Monozukuri concept to build manufacturingexcellence was particularly interesting.Umesh Kumar Handa,GM Co-ordinator / MR, Orient Faishons Export India Pvt. Ltd.Communiqué October 2010 | 45