What does 'Monozukuri' mean?

'Monozukuri’Äô is a Japanese phrase, and it means eco-friendly, sustainable green design, lean and visual manufacturing and assembly for the purpose of reducing waste, helping the environment, the communities and in the long term increasing profits and product quality.

This principle is based on the long-term thinking and logic, that societies will eventually realize the effects of pollution, toxicity and environmental degradation, and therefore customers will turn towards environmentally safe products.

Then, this long-term investment pays off in a relatively short time, because those companies that ignore these policies and carry on deploying wasteful production methods disappear quickly.

Key principles we'll discuss with several examples:

Principle-1: Design and simulate in the digital domain, meaning on the screen first, before anything is built on the factory floor, following eco-friendly, ’Äòmonozukuri-focused’Äô product, assembly system and factory design rules.

Principle-2: Design products for automated assembly, but start with mostly human operated assembly systems and gradually introduce the appropriate level of automation.

Principle-3: Management decisions should reflect long-term thinking, even if this means initially hard-to-accept financial returns.

Principle-4: Develop outstanding leaders who fully understand and support the company philosophy, and wisdom. (Note, that company mission statements in teh 21st Century should include a sustainable, green design and manufacturing focus!)

Principle-5: Create a strong company culture that does not tolerate poor quality work and focuses on continuous improvement and waste reduction methods and tools. (Note, that by reducing waste at all levels the company becomes leaner, therefore more sustainable... )

Principle-6: Good leaders will spend time at all levels of the company to thoroughly understand all aspects of a decision (’Äògenchi genbutsu’Äô).

Principle-7: Your company supply network plays a key part in designing products, processes and systems, therefore help them to continuously improve.

Principle-8: Decisions should be achieved by means of team consensus.

Principle-9: Design continuous process flow with built-in flexibility and agility to be able to produce several (e.g. 5-8, or even more) different product types on the same line.

Principle-10: Balancing the workload is essential to avoid high WIP (work ’Äì in ’Äìprogress) and buffer size fluctuations (’Äòheijunka’Äô).

Principle-11: The production control system should always focus on producing based on the market’Äôs needs, not the factory’Äôs maximum capacity .

Principle-12: Follow reusable, standardized processes. (This does not mean of course, that you shouldn't innovate and design new processes and continuously improve quality and sustainable lean and green processes.)

Principle-13: It is ’ÄòOK’Äô to stop the line if the associate recognizes a quality issue that needs to be fixed immediately (’Äòjidoka’Äô).
’ÄòJidoka’Äô literally means machines with human intelligence. As an example think of a ’ÄòSmart’Äô machine, such as and automated robotized inspection station with vision.

Principle-14: Technology used should be the ’Äòappropriate, tested level of technology’Äô versus the latest, for the sake of using the latest technology.

Principle-15: Design continuous improvement techniques, or Kaisen methods into every process .

Principle-16: Design products and processes in the digital domain first, to avoid MUDA, MURA, and MURI.

• MUDA MUDA means waste. It means many different types of waste, including: unbalanced workload, long waiting times and uncoordinated action plans between departments, as well as waste in terms of, "is the right man doing the right job?"
• MURA MURA means irregularity, or differences and variability caused by men. Are individual differences wider than normal? Is co-ordination between associates causing unnecessary irregularities? Is the workload evenly distributed? Are the peaks preventing associates and managers from performing their jobs properly? Is the workload and the type of work balanced in terms of skills, responsibilities and authority? Is proper training provided?
• MURI MURI means stress and strain. It reflects on problem areas such as: Is there a shortage of manpower? Is there an opportunity to simplify the operation unloading strain of the operators? Is there an opportunity to reduce organizational strain in the design and manufacturing office by organizing work and activities better? Is manpower and staffing acceptable? Is there a physical strain or ergonomics issue (e.g. posture, environmental pollution, and noise)?

Principle-17: Visual factory to support all sustainable, lean and green requirements.

Principle-18: Strive towards the wisdom of a learning organization through analysis and reflection (’Äòhansei’Äô) and continuous improvement (’Äòkansei’Äô).

'Monozukuri' Examples...

Let us show some truly interesting examples of 'Monozukuri' principles... (Just click on the images and video poster frames below to see them in full size.)

Interactive Exercise: As part of a small tream review each Monozukuri principle. Search the Internet and other available quality sources, read and discuss what you have read. Try to find Monozukuri examples from your own life and work too.

Report to class as part of a short team presentation.

(Just click for a longer version of this video )

Summary and Outcome-oriented Assessment

• Summarize the learning objectives of this class
• Assess the results
• Review and revise
• Outcome-oriented assessment

More References, Additional Learning Resources and Interactive Discussion Topics From the Web

(Please note, that web sites and even URLs change all the time, they are not controlled by the author of this document and therefore the content and even the links to the sites below might change...)

http://www.edn.com/blog/450000245/post/1150030715.html

http://www.edn.com/blog/450000245/post/570027057.html

http://www.edn.com/blog/450000245/post/10026401.html

http://www.edn.com/blog/450000245/post/520008252.html

http://www2.electronicproducts.com/Default.aspx

http://www.ni.com/academic/resources.htm

http://www.ni.com/greenengineering/

http://www.industryweek.com/

http://www.industryweek.com/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=560

http://www.industryweek.com/manufacturing101/

http://www.industryweek.com/Whitepapers/

http://www.devicelink.com/expo/nmw08/nmw_GM.html

http://www.apple.com/science/whymac/

http://www.apple.com/environment/

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/index.html

http://www.gm.com/

http://www.gm.com:80/experience/education/9-12/environment/plants_2007/

http://www.gm.com:80/experience/education/9-12/environment/index.html

http://www.toyota.com/index.html

http://www.toyota.com/about/our_commitment/environment/operations/green_suppliers.html

http://www.toyota.com/about/our_commitment/environment/index.html

http://www.toyota.com/about/our_commitment/environment/environment_updates/index.html

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Air_pollution_in_China

http://www.earthportal.org/?page_id=70

http://english.sepa.gov.cn/

http://english.sepa.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/200808/t20080818_127372.htm

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/channel.html

http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/propertyvalue-13632.html

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/misrf-20070510.html

http://www.erenlai.com/index.php?aid=566&lan=3

http://www.who.int/topics/air_pollution/en/

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/indoorair/publications/en/index.html

http://www.who.int/publications/en/

http://www.who.int/ith/chapters/en/index.html

http://www.manufacturing.net/News-GE-Expects-China-Business-To-Double.aspx?menuid=36

http://www.manufacturing.net/articles.aspx?id=132&menuid=272

http://www.championsclub.org.uk/editorials/confidence-is2.php

http://www.csiro.au/science/SustainableManufacturing.html

http://www.ita.doc.gov/competitiveness/sustainablemanufacturing/index.asp

http://www.manufacturing.gov