I saw the plant on Friday, it was pretty cool. Some excerpts from my visit notes are below, I should be posting the whole thing soon:
Before entering the Gemba, you walk past a “Simulated Work Environment” where new employees are trained on fundamentals of TPS. There is a small scale u-shaped line with wooden model vehicles. Kanban racks, position markings, and work instructions are posted just as they would be in the factory.
It's interesting to hear about the committment to training. The article says, in part:
Robin Coonen, training center manager, said employees began using the new building two weeks ago.
She said, as of this week, 88 percent of all NUMMI employees had been trained in the TPS. The company hopes to have all employees trained by the end of the year.
Are you doing as well training all of your employees on your process and the fundamentals of TPS?
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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker who has worked in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. He is author of the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, as well as The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. His most recent book is the anthology Practicing Lean that benefits the Louise H. Batz Patient Safety Foundation, where Mark is a board member. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus. His latest book has been released as an "in-progress" book, titled Measures of Success.