Monday, November 20, 2006

Article About Toyota's Kentucky Plant

Click on the link below to read a great article on the culture and philosophy that Toyota has instilled in its American workers in Kentucky. Warning: this article is very long. It's also very insightful, so it's well worth the time spent reading it.

http://www.fastcompany.com/subscr/111/open_no-satisfaction.html

How does this apply to homebuilding?

With homebuilding, as with any other form of enterprise, there is a need to constantly tweak and improve your processes. Homebuilders deal with a barrage of problems on a daily basis: weather, material shortages, unreliable labor, change orders, cost increases, governmental bureaucracy, and many, many more. Without a culture that emphasizes continuous improvement, our chances of long-term survival are less than our chances of developing ulcers, pulling our hair out, and going mad.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that a picture of Bill V. after a staff meeting?

Anonymous said...

That was a long article, with lots of words.

Anonymous said...

Toyota seems to have buy in from ALL levels of their company.

Michael Lombard said...

Yes, at Toyota the efforts of the managers seem to be in harmony with the efforts of their line workers. The long-term philosophy is instilled at all levels.

Anonymous said...

Similar to behavior base safety. Empower the people and you will get results.