just-in-time imperialism?

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Oh yes, and the efficiency of deprivation of prisoners.Spector, Mike and Gina Chon.
2007. "Managing Toyota University Opens Admissions to Outsiders: Car Giant Preaches
Its Mantra Of Continuous Improvement." Wall Street Journal (5 March): p. B 1.
"When Capt. Patrick Findley took over the Los Angeles Police Department's jails
about two years ago, incoming prisoners stood in line for hours waiting to be
booked, and officers spent valuable time heating up frozen dinners to feed them each
evening.  So Capt. Findley turned to an unlikely place for a tune-up: Toyota Motor
Corp."
"The company isn't only one of the most efficient and profitable auto makers on the
planet, it also has quietly become a kind of managerial guru.  At times, it has
opened the doors of its in-house training center, known as the University of Toyota,
and welcomed students ranging from home builders to soldiers to city cops.  Los
Angeles police do a car-building drill at the University of Toyota."
"For Capt. Findley, a two-day class revealed the solution to his headaches:
sandwiches.  By cutting hot evening meals at the lockup, the LAPD could free more
officers during one of the jail's busiest times.  "We had always done it that way,"
Capt. Findley says of serving dinner hot. "It never occurred to me to do something
different"."
"Based in Gardena, Calif., the Toyota program was started in 1998 to train the
company's employees in its distinctive business philosophy and "lean-thinking"
approach to producing cars.  For instance, Toyota's just-in-time production system
orchestrates the building and delivery of parts so they arrive at the factory a few
hours before needed instead of sitting in storage for days.  That way, Toyota spends
less on stocking unused parts and has fewer parts to fix or scrap if a quality
problem arises."
"In 2005, the Defense Department sent representatives from each military branch to
Toyota to improve combat readiness. Participants learned how Toyota organizes its
distribution centers and warehouses in ways that speed the shipment of parts.  The
military applied some of these ideas to the airports that handle materials headed
for Iraq.  One small change: The military now stacks packing material closer to
loading docks, which saves personnel a few steps and a couple of minutes each time
they pack up supplies for shipment.  Over the course of a day, those small changes
save hours."
"In an assessment of the Toyota training, one Air Force captain wrote that her "life
would never be the same"."
"Prisoners still get hot lunches, but at dinnertime they get two prepackaged turkey
sandwiches, an apple and milk. "This is not Spago," Capt. Findley says, referring to
Wolfgang Puck's restaurant."




Spector, Mike and Gina Chon. 2007. "Managing Toyota University Opens Admissions to
Outsiders: Car Giant Preaches Its Mantra Of Continuous Improvement." Wall Street
Journal (5 March): p. B 1.
"When Capt. Patrick Findley took over the Los Angeles Police Department's jails
about two years ago, incoming prisoners stood in line for hours waiting to be
booked, and officers spent valuable time heating up frozen dinners to feed them each
evening.  So Capt. Findley turned to an unlikely place for a tune-up: Toyota Motor
Corp."
"The company isn't only one of the most efficient and profitable auto makers on the
planet, it also has quietly become a kind of managerial guru.  At times, it has
opened the doors of its in-house training center, known as the University of Toyota,
and welcomed students ranging from home builders to soldiers to city cops.  Los
Angeles police do a car-building drill at the University of Toyota."
"For Capt. Findley, a two-day class revealed the solution to his headaches:
sandwiches.  By cutting hot evening meals at the lockup, the LAPD could free more
officers during one of the jail's busiest times.  "We had always done it that way,"
Capt. Findley says of serving dinner hot. "It never occurred to me to do something
different"."
"Based in Gardena, Calif., the Toyota program was started in 1998 to train the
company's employees in its distinctive business philosophy and "lean-thinking"
approach to producing cars.  For instance, Toyota's just-in-time production system
orchestrates the building and delivery of parts so they arrive at the factory a few
hours before needed instead of sitting in storage for days.  That way, Toyota spends
less on stocking unused parts and has fewer parts to fix or scrap if a quality
problem arises."
"In 2005, the Defense Department sent representatives from each military branch to
Toyota to improve combat readiness. Participants learned how Toyota organizes its
distribution centers and warehouses in ways that speed the shipment of parts.  The
military applied some of these ideas to the airports that handle materials headed
for Iraq.  One small change: The military now stacks packing material closer to
loading docks, which saves personnel a few steps and a couple of minutes each time
they pack up supplies for shipment.  Over the course of a day, those small changes
save hours."
"In an assessment of the Toyota training, one Air Force captain wrote that her "life
would never be the same"."
"Prisoners still get hot lunches, but at dinnertime they get two prepackaged turkey
sandwiches, an apple and milk. "This is not Spago," Capt. Findley says, referring to
Wolfgang Puck's restaurant."
 --
Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com