If Japan can, why can’t we?

Daniel Wynne
David Headd
Niall Kennedy
 No nation came close to the US in technology, the Japanese came late, but well prepared. A
study showed that in the US the brains of computer failed 6 times more then the brains of a
Japanese computer.
 Production is very low in the US when to comparing to other countries.
 Environmental Control regulations Concerning Engines, American manufactures tend to be
thinking how to put it off, how to stop it. While the Japanese think how soon they get back
so their research, production people work on the problem to reach certain specifications.
 In the National Electric code, An OSHA inspector nearly charged $40,000 to rewire a building
because a certain light that was 20 feet in the air was against code, it was appealed.
 Japan had an increase of 8% in production in 1978, and 11.4% in 1979, while US productivity
is 0%
 American companies have some difficulty raising the capital to buy new equipment, the
Japanese do not have that problem, they plough back more of their profits and there is more
available money to borrow.
 Mazda made 740,000 cars in 1974 with 30,000 workers. The most recent year in this
documentary had only 27,000 workers but made 1,000,000 cars.
 Japanese care much more about their factory workers then the US, giving them breaks in
between and more holidays.
 The Japanese quality of work is so high, they need very little number of workers per job.
 Japan had the longest fully automated assembly line with refrigerators, with fewer then 900
production works, the plant makes 4000 refrigerators a day.
 With this type of machinery, the Japanese are moving much faster with technology then the
US.
 The US supplied Japan with agricultural goods, raw materials, and imports finish products. In
28 years, they have completely reversed the two roles.

 The US started to bounce back. The average hourly worker in the factory earned $22,000,
while last year there were melders who earned $35,000.
 They have not laid off a single employee for lack of work in the last 10 years.
 For the last 4 years the US has had the same or less price for the manufacturing of steel
when comparing to the Japanese.
 Post office productivity increased with providing workers with music to listen to and
improving machinery, so it is easier to deal with larger amounts of mail. It increased from 30
letters to 60 for organising mail in 1 minute. But then improved with better machinery,
which then went to organising 750 pieces of mail a minute.
 In water works pipe fittings, they have profit sharing, so everyone benefits from everyone
else’s work, a reward for group effort. This system builds productivity and trust.
 Japan is using statistical methods, giving back to the world using product statistical quality,
that the world has not seen before. America can use the same methods but don’t have the
same goals or determination as the Japanese.
 Before 1980, people used to produce a bunch of products, then check which ones were bad
and throw them away. The video presents a clear and consistent story about the need to
design quality products and processes that reduce (or eliminate) the need for inadequate
quality testing.

 It is also common to spoof a process by simply having random variations. As one of the
production makers said: “We do not know .If we feel there may be a problem in the process,
we will fix it. Deming's application of Shewhart's methods clearly shows that it is not
necessary to modify a process that exhibits only random variations.

 Workers and managers are frustrated with the considerable number of regulations they
must deal with and point out that they increase costs, slow the pace of innovation, and do
little harm to businesses. They emphasized that government and industry need to work
together to address these issues and that Japan is a model for ensuring the success of these
interactions.

 Narrator Lloyd Dobyns observes that the Japanese operate by consensus, “We, by
competition. " He points out that one of the reasons industrial reforms have been so strong
and positive is that Japanese culture naturally encourages cooperation toward common
goals. He warns managers that they cannot simply abandon statistical quality control and
expect rosy results: quality improvement is a cultural commitment, and methods are not
useful in the absence of consensus and commitment.