AD&P; > July 2014 > TALK > Marginal > Gary S. Vasilash > gsv@autofeldguide.com
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Gary S. Vasilash, Editor-In-Chief
Thinking About Sustainability
As I thought about "sustainable
manufacturing"—actually, sustain-
ability overall—for this issue, it
occurred to me that while this has
become something that is both
trendy and essential (trendy in that
companies like to boast of their
"green" credentials; essential in
that for both economic and regu-
latory reasons, companies can no
longer waste resources), it really
goes back a bit to something that
isn't heard about much anymore:
the Toyota Production System.
Everybody knows about it, right?
Sure, and everyone is committed
frst and foremost to quality in
everything they do (just don't
think about the recalls that are
occurring with such regularity that
the announcements have taken
on the startling nature of droning
white noise).
I found a copy of The Shingo
Production Management System
by Shigeo Shingo, published in
1992 (now evidently out of print,
though other titles by the re-
markable industrial engineer are
available from Taylor & Francis
[ taylorandfrancis.com ]) on my
bookshelf. And I began looking
at some of his observations about
muda, or waste.
Let me quote a passage from that
book which provides a sense of
how Shingo was no-nonsense,
how he cut to the chase—and cut
to the quick:
"I once gave a talk in an industrial
zone of Osaka to people from about
80 frms afliated with Company
A. I remarked to Mr. K, the presi-
dent of the host company, that all
the people in his frm were idiots.
"'What do you mean?' he replied
indignantly. 'I'm not one to boast,
but they're all top-notch people.'
"'If that's the case, then why do
you have the slogan 'Get Rid of
Waste!' framed and hanging on
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