Monozukuri: characteristics of this production method

Throughout history, a multitude of ways of producing have been developed, seeking the maximum possible efficiency.

In this sense, Japan has always been a pioneer country and has provided some of the most popular methods, embraced by a multitude of industries around the world. This is the case of the Monozukuri method. Below we will discover what it consists of and what its main characteristics are.

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What is the Monozukuri?

The Monozukuri is a form of production whose objective is the maximum optimization in each step of the manufacture of the final product. The terminology comes from Japanese and literally means the process of making something. It comes from an ancient Japanese philosophy, dating back more than 4000 years, by which the artisans tried to put all the importance in the very object they are creating and in its details.

Later, this philosophy was adapted to the nascent industry, being adopted by a multitude of automobile and other companies, such as Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Toshiba or Sharp. Perhaps the key to its popularity is that the Monozukuri seeks to dilute the separation of the different departments of the company so that all workers are seen as members of a common team and each task is seen as fundamental to the objective latest.

In addition, another advantage of the Monozukuri is its versatility and flexibility, since Instead of opting for rigid guidelines, it is based on approaches that are adaptable to the type of organization that adopts this methodology., so it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. In fact, the Monozukuri as such would be the very idea that remains engraved on the operators and that makes them collaborate like bees in a hive, optimizing the chain of work throughout its journey.

The Monozukuri method has several fundamental principles that make it different from other forms of production. To begin with, continuous improvement is sought in all work processes, and the ultimate goal is to achieve a product of the highest quality that has been created in the most efficient way. On the other hand, if a problem arises, it has to be solved through given processes, which end up turning it into an opportunity to improve.

Such problem solving is not the responsibility of any one person in particular, but of the entire team.. All operators know the production process and must be involved in finding the causes that originate the problems, to eliminate them from the root and thus achieve a more efficient system in successive. It is an improvement that does not stop, as better methods can always emerge that must be applied.

To do this, it is essential not to lose sight of the companies that make up our competition, because you can always learn from them and enter a feedback loop that will continue to arrive ways to optimize procedures and thus be increasingly efficient, being able to offer the end customer a product of the maximum quality.

Cultural adaptation

We have already seen what the Monozukuri method consists of, and that it comes from truly ancient beliefs and philosophy, forming part of the traditional knowledge of Japan. We have also seen that it is not a rigid methodology, and therefore it has sought to adapt to the different places where it has been exported, since it is evident that the way of work and the personal characteristics of each region of the world are very particular, and therefore a rigid work method would be difficult to extrapolate from a place to another.

One of the most popular derivations of the traditional Monozukuri is the Monozukuri Genba, which adapts the work methodology to companies located in tropical environments, since the idiosyncrasy of the inhabitants of these areas is very different from that of the Japanese or countries Westerners. In this way, the Monozukuri Genba takes advantage of the passion of Latin people and achieves a work discipline through these characteristics.

This is an example of why it is essential to take into account the sociocultural characteristics of a population before implementing a specific methodology, since this could have been developed by people with totally different lifestyles and work styles and, therefore, a prior adaptation is necessary if we want to be successful in the implementation of the new philosophy.

The Monozukuri Genba would be the most popular adaptation, and indeed has a very characteristic system of levels with which maximum efficiency is sought in the implementation in these types of countries. It is such a detailed topic that it deserves a full point below.

Monozukuri Genba levels

The Monozukuri Genba is based on four different levels of maturity that seek to achieve different objectives. It is essential to apply each level correctly before moving on to the next, to achieve the most powerful effect possible. Let's see what implications each of them has and how they are carried out.

1. Standardization

This is the initial level, with which we would begin to work. The fundamental objective at this point is to standardize the different positions in the company, seeking the maximum skill and discipline of the operators in each one of them. It is the entry point for the Monozukuri Genba into the organization, laying the foundations for what will come next.

2. Methodology

On this second level employees are provided with a series of methodologies so that they learn to carry out analysis of work processes, detecting and solving the problems that could be, in an optimal way. The methods used are variable and are adapted according to the type of industry and the idiosyncrasies of the workers, being able to use some such as the Russian TRIZ, the QC story, or the five why, both of origin Japanese.

Apart from those already mentioned, the most popular methodology is known as rapid response quality control, or QRQC (for its acronym in English, Quick Response Quality Control), which seeks to optimize response times in solving a problem of so that, as soon as it is detected, a standardized process is put in place that solves it in the shortest period of time that is possible.

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3. Gets better

Once we reach level 3, the next objective is to continue improving in the use of the Monozukuri Genba method. Here another methodology comes into play, known as Kaizen, also of Japanese origin. As with the teachings we saw in the previous point, regarding the Kaizen method we can also choose between different modalities, depending on the characteristics of our company.

Therefore we can select Kaizen groups, based on Kaoru Ishikawa's quality circles. Each group is made up of four members, plus an advisor and a group leader. They should use the so-called quality route to improve, over a full year, the production processes that correspond to them, eliminating all the problems that arise.

Another option would be the Kaizen 2 days 2 hours, which uses that time (either two days, or two hours) to identify possible procedures in a job that can be optimized, and implement those improvements immediately.

There would also be the three different types of Kaizen Kobetsu, to improve individual performance depending on the complexity of the task. Finally we would have the Kaizen Teian, which is based on the principle of the usefulness of the idea if it is carried out.

4. Capitalization

We reached the last level of the Monozukuri Genba. ANDn the fourth level, what is sought is benchmarking, or what is the same, comparing with the different competitors in the sector to check where we are and if the improvements made throughout the Monozukuri Genba process have been effective and have complied with the forecasts made at the beginning. If the process has been carried out correctly, our organization should be ready to compete with all the others at an optimal level.

The Monozukuri Genba methodology makes clear the importance of the base of the pyramid, that is, the processes carried out by all operators, to achieve the competitiveness that is sought, based on total efficiency of all employees. That is why each and every one of them is essential to achieve the common objective that the company seeks, which after all is a team of which they are all part.

Bibliographic references:

• Aoki, K. Staeblein, T., Tomino, T. (2014). Monozukuri capability to address product variety: A comparison between Japanese and German automotive makers. International Journal of Production Economics. Elsevier.
• Heller, D.A., Fujimoto, T. (2017). Monozukuri management: Driver of sustained competitiveness in the Japanese auto industry. Japanese Management in Evolution.
• Kovacic, M. (2018). The making of national robot history in Japan: monozukuri, enculturation and cultural lineage of robots. Critical Asian Studies. Taylor & Francis.
• Toda, K., Salazar, A., Saito, K. (2012). Automotive Painting Technology: A Monozukuri-Hitozukuri Perspective. Springer.