The article Toyota way elaborates the different ways that Toyota has managed to maintain its top spot in the lead of the best company in the motor industry. The Key secret strategy that the business maintains and which keeps pushing the company ahead is the partnerships that the company has formed with other stakeholders in the firm, specifically suppliers. Suppliers and partners credit Toyota as a company that sets high standards for themselves and the suppliers and in the process ensuring that their products are of high quality. The high standards set by Toyota helps the suppliers grow their capabilities and the quality of their products to reach the conditions specified by the company. Toyota itself plays an active role in ensuring the quality is achieved.
The importance of building a good relationship with the suppliers in business is highlighted by the rise of Toyota and the fall of American Auto. While American Auto sought to make a structure that bore fruits on the short-term without checking its sustainability or the response it would get from the suppliers, Toyota made their structure slowly and in line with their long-term strategy that the company is founded on. The steady growth and depth of suppliers and Toyota is illustrated in the case by the reaction that the company got when Aisin factory which supplied Toyota with P-Valve, which is an integral part of the system of Toyota vehicles’ braking system. The other suppliers came up with solutions to keep the company running by getting alternatives to the valve within 48 hours. This is due to the good relationship between the firm and its suppliers where they do not only view each other as business partners but also as an integral part of each other, and hence, the problems of Toyota become problems of the suppliers.
The setting of common goals for Toyota and the different suppliers is a rare occurrence in the business world when the firms are not affiliated, but this is what has made Toyota thrive in the motor industry. The company ensures that the different suppliers understand the importance of working in the same direction with the automotive manufacturer and hence assurance of not only the good working environment but also a chance to know that the business partner is willing to help in the event of problems. Starting simple before going big with the infrastructures and other functions is an important aspect of business management that Toyota has perfected as illustrated by the building of Transfreight, which was built into a company that supplies the entire North America from a single cross-dock in ten years.
The operations of Toyota and several of its affiliated companies is based on the principles of lean construction where the waste of materials, time and efforts in the production process is minimized and hence maximizing the output. According to the doctrine of lean construction, maintaining a flow in the manufacturing process is critical in ensuring customer satisfaction and maintenance of high quality products and services from the clients. This concept can be seen in operation in the case study, first when the Aisin Factory burns down and also when Toyota helps in building an independent company, Transfreight strategically to have control of shipping the company’s auto products to North America at their own terms despite the significant distance.
Principle 11 and construction manager
The principle enforces the importance of pulling the stakeholders in one’s line of operations by challenging them and also helping them become better. This policy is applicable for construction managers in ensuring that their work and that of the workers and departments below him/her are improved. Just like Toyota does it, the manager has to attain high levels of working, skills and competence in the different fields to command respect of his decisions from the various departments. Setting high standards for the company and the various departments and then helping them achieve their set goals will make construction managers get the best out of the workers while also improving them.
Principles application in the construction site
The principles of lean construction can help in the building of a building on the site. One of the most applicable principles is the setting of high standards and also helping in rising the quality of work. In a construction site, different departments are tasked with performing various tasks. Setting challenges for the different departments will not only improve the amount of work done over a period of time but also will improve the quality of job done over the same period.
The need to empower other people in the different departments operating on the construction site will help in improving the performance and also have a unified performance. The most basic way stated in the text is the importance of the philosophy set by the management. A positive philosophy does not only mean that more work will done by also the different departments will understand the importance of good performance on their task to the overall project. Ensuring that the issues of the other people are heard is a major factor in the construction site to ensure that creativity and uniqueness of the different workers is accommodated.
