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News & Views From the Front Line
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Bloody Toyota!
Toyota owners must be furious with the current recalls to fix serious problems across their range. I'm furious for a different (and non-life threatening) reason as in my talks I use Toyota as an example of:1. An iconic green(ish) product - The Prius (now being recalled).
2. A green(ish) company beating the old GM (with their dirty Hummer) to the #1 motor manufacturer slot - triggering a green overhaul in GM. Do you think Toyota will be #1 next year?
3. The company's Total Quality Management/Toyota Production System as a model on which to develop into a sustainable company. And then they foul up on, you guessed it, quality.
The gist of the points I'm making hasn't changed, but it is harder to make the case when the company is under such disgrace.
There's a lesson in here for green companies - no matter how well you build your case and your brand, one slip and it can all come tumbling down.
Labels: general motors, prius, total quality management, toyota
# posted by Gareth Kane : 07:00
1 Comments
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Sustainability Lessons from Total Quality Management
One of the criticisms of Environmental Management Systems (eg ISO14001) is their reliance on mere continual improvement of environmental performance. It has always surprised me that environmental management has not pinched more ideas from its big brother, quality management.The Total Quality Management (TQM) movement was conceived in the USA in the 50s but took off in Japan, where it has been credited with turning the phrase 'made in Japan' from shorthand for cheap tatty products into a badge of prestige. The motor industry in particular took it up with a vengance and ended the dominance of US and European models in the global market, until the West started adopting the same techniques.
TQM has two types of change:
• Kaikaku - big radical changes that align the whole system to deliver quality products.
• Kaizen - continual, incremental improvements within that system to squeeze the best performance out of it.
Kaikaku can be considered as 'doing the right thing' and Kaizen as 'doing things right'.
I strongly believe that industry should adopt a similar model for environment performance - big radical changes (like sustainable product development, adopting cleaner manufacturing processes or shifting to product-service systems) should be complemented with basic waste minimisation and energy efficiency techniques. If the success of TQM could be replicated in environmental management, we'd be a long way down the road to sustainability.
Labels: environmental management systems, total quality management
# posted by Gareth Kane : 14:08
1 Comments
A highly accessible, practical guide to those who want to introduce sustainability into their business or organization quickly and effectively.
