Controls News 13
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Main theme: Lean automation
In Control News 11 and 12 we provided a compre-
hensive overview of two guiding principles. In this
edition of Control News, we share our deep commit-
ment to lean and tell you about the background
of automation. This is not revolutionary, but it is a
radical approach to automation and control tech-
nology.
The origin of Lean – post-war Japan
Like Germany, Japan was destroyed after the Sec-
ond World War. Yet it received no funds from the
Marshall Plan (the USA’s economic reconstruction
programme). In addition, Japan had even fewer
natural resources than Germany. It was in this cri-
sis situation, with its major challenges, that the lean
approach was developed.
Japan’s only capital was human hands and heads.
Due to the traditionally close and long-standing
ties between employees and employers, Japanese
businesses were more consistent and persistent in
seeking ways to make employees sustainably more
productive. Even today, in Japan downsizing is a
last resort in difficult economic times. In western
Europe, by contrast, rationalization comes first, with
massive investments in automation and machines.
Or deindustrialization takes place and production is
shifted abroad, like in the USA.
Toyota:
The founders of lean, and a shining example
Under its innovative head Taiichi Ohno, Toyota de-
veloped, perfected and distributed worldwide the
methods and concepts we associate with the term
«
lean». Mr Ohno could also be called «Mr Lean».
It was thanks to him that, after the war, Toyota
went from being a textile machine business to the
The lean story
Lean is one of three guiding principles that we sincerely intend to uphold and pursue in
the long term. This is expressed in how we cooperate with our environment, how we
design our products and the functions they perform. With lean, this is also visible in our
production.
Author: Jürgen Lauber
licensed producer for General Motors and then the
global automobile leader it is today.
For consumers, Toyota’s lean business culture is
conveyed mainly in the reliability and low service
costs of its products. Things are done more simply
and securely than elsewhere. For investors, the con-
cept of lean takes the form of profitability, which is
higher than for many western European manufac-
turers.
How is Toyota’s lean culture apparent?
It is most apparent in the range of production lo-
cations as part of worldwide expansion. Toyota de-
liberately went to places where there was no «old»
automobile culture and few «qualified» person-
nel. Up until this point in the USA, it was generally
accepted that cars were only made in the orbit of
Detroit. Toyota set up its first production plants in
the southern states.
With the ingenious simplicity of lean production,
there was little need for rare specialists or expen-
sive technicians. Bad experiences are constraining
and ingrained «non-lean» behaviours and thought
patterns are more of a hindrance than a help. Toyo-
ta’s lean culture is also apparent in its external ap-
pearance and in the behaviour of its employees.
They seem fresh and vital and support each other
and the company in a positive way. This is an ob-
servation described by Jeffrey K. Liker in his interna-
tional bestseller «The Toyota Way». He was very im-
pressed with the health, vitality and motivation of
even «older» Toyota employees in comparison with
the «exhausted and stressed» managers of other
automobile companies. He admired the fact that
at Toyota there was a lot less whingeing and back-
stabbing.
The founding father of lean
and one of his standard
works.
The lean culture
hails from Japan
Ideal reading on the
concepts and effects
of lean
Controls News 11:
Openness, only universal standards,
not proprietary ones
Controls News 12:
Quality of automated solutions.
The «Peace of Mind» guarantee mark
Controls News 13:
Lean automation
The aim of lean
Performance without
anxiety and stress
