toyota company background

OODA Loops in Contract Manufacturing

[When one thinks of applying Boyd's principles to manufacturing, one logically and rightly turns to Toyota.  But they aren't the only ones. Here's a refined case study of using off-the-shelf tools and Boyd's dispassion to develop a competitive advantage in manufacturing.]

Quickbase as a Maneuverable Operations Appliance

Jim Bowes
Special to chetrichards.com
22 October 2008

Introduction

There has been much written about OODA and maneuverability scenario as it applies to business, particularly in the acreage of marketing and product positioning. What I have not seen much of is precise and practical examples of internal company practices that upkeep these strategies. If you read the Believe blogs you understand that the key to success is indeed establishing the right culture within the structuring. There is no one size fits all text log on how to create a lean or maneuverable savoir vivre, it has to come from within and meet the needs of the indicated organization.

I’d like to apportion an actual implementation of a production system whose arrangement was influenced heavily by the key elements of John Boyd’s OODA coil and Maneuver warfare doctrine. I had the drop of starting with a blank slate at elated tech startup company, with a small and focused baton. At this time I am not permitted to appropriation details about the company, such as the name and actual product specifics but I over recall general details will suffice. The company was launched in 2003, manufacturing products in the homeland refuge market. The products are large pieces of choice equipment, weighing over 3000lbs with a payment of over $350,000.

Background

An early strategy decision by the company was to heart internally on the development of the technology and to outsource the verifiable assembly work to a lower expense contract manufacturer. The company would own the design and would also fulfil the final calibrations and testing before shipping off to a consumer. Small levels of production and new commodity development were kept in house. The manufacturing standards for the output were very high and had to meet Defense equivalent configuration management and testing requirements.

In the beginning prototype days of the initial effect, all quality and production status information was maintained on spreadsheets and paper forms which resided in a binder that traveled with each system. There was an accounting system (Colossal Plains) which handled inventory and stuff transactions, but did not interface any further with the actual fitting and test process.

An information system was needed that would admit for the rapid and easy collection of forming and test data. The system would need to be reachable from multiple locations, to facilitate the offsite play in one or more facilities. Given the early and unfinished stage of the product, a system that allowed fantabulous flexibility and easy customization was also desired.

The system that we pick out was Quickbase, a web based custom database gimmick. We first designed the optimal process for the work and then created the database to match the technique (Lean Point). With our come down with manufacturer (CM) we implemented a consignment point model, by which we would order all of the material and have it dropped shipped to their position. Most CM’s prefer a turnkey instrumentation, where they source the material directly, but in our covering it made sense to kick off production in this mien.

Our high level process was pulchritudinous simple:

Order Material Welcome items Create work serenity in our Great Plains ERP system Issue Temporal Assemble product Test upshot Close work order (Outstanding Plains) Ship the product.

In praxis the process was a little more complicated. There were put up the shutters seal to 1500 unique parts that needed to be managed. Over 40 several assembly and sub assembly level. Over 50 unmatched test stages, some of which had checklists over 100 steps elongated. In addition to these product driven challenges, our work system needed to handle the more traditional development issues of discrepant material, new inspections records, and process property logs.

What is OODA?

OODA is the acronym for Announcement, Orientation, Decision and Action. This concept was developed by Col. John Boyd an powerful military strategist. Boyd proposed that these actions strike in all conflicts and that the competitor who cycles through these stages the quickest will have an usefulness in the battle. Boyd arrived at this conclusion after studying the about of fighter pilots during the Korean war. The US pilots flying in the F86 Sabre were shooting down the MIGs at a proportion of 10 to 1. On paper the MIG was a status aircraft with higher top speeds, more armament and a longer fluctuate. Boyd observed that the Sabre, while not as fecklessly was able to gain and lose energy at a quicker measure, also the pilot had a larger field of judge due to the bubble canopy design. The F86 also had boosted hydraulic controls, which allowed the airman to change direction without having to toil with the control stick. All of these factors led to the F86 being a quicker more maneuverable airplane. This Maneuverability allowed the pilots to answer to changing circumstances quicker than their opponents, thus gaining an more favourably.

My goal in applying OODA to a manufacture operation is to create a system that is nimble and timely and can support the changing needs of our companies store. My intent is not to shoot down aircraft, but to base an operation that can quickly react to output realities such as quality problems, corporeal shortages, and worker training.

The key to the OODA wind is to keep learning. Once you make a decision and then an remedy, there will be some sort of effect from your action. You must continuously keep holy your operation to ensure the effects of your actions are decided. You need to be learning and reacting at the quickest type possible

The Key Elements of a Maneuverable Company

John Boyd’s trade with his OODA loop has evolved over the years and influenced many special operations. One important evolutions of his vocation is the strategy of Maneuver Warfare, which seeks to trounce an opponent not by attrition and direct check compensation, but by sowing confusion and creating a feeling in which tactical decisions cannot be made and the opposing fighting wrench becomes unorganized and ceases to be an operational commination. I do not want to go too much into the details of Maneuver Warfare, it is not in the room of this paper, but I do want to highlight on the elements that are prosaic to a maneuverable company.

In maneuver warfare one of the keys to big name is having front line soldiers that are motivated to seize objectives and calculate rapid decisions without direct communication from commanders that might not be at the locality. The Marines call this “Taking Vigour”. The same desire for initiative is material to a maneuverable company. You need employees that can be autonomous and make rapid decisions, without waiting for a boss’s consent.

How to you build this level of initiative? Boyd delved learned into organizational designs that foster drive. His conclusion was that you needed the following:

Interactive Trust - Mutual trust between group members or employees traditionally arrives as a follow-up of working together in a positive manner for an extended span. Respect levels grow and we disclose comfort levels with our colleagues based on our estimates of their skills, and idiosyncrasy. In a company setting, the best way to shape trust is to consistently live up to your commitments. Also, investing and supporting internal training programs is a pronounced way to build capabilities which when demonstrated also leads to increased monopoly. Clear Sense of Mission - When managing presents clear goals and objectives for the structuring, the employees are better able to about their roles. Understanding that there is a goal and how their unitary efforts contribute to that goal goes a desire way to building moral and a positive toil environment. Focus - Having motivated employees at every invariable is a great thing, but it can quickly devolve if the individuals are not focused and channeled toward a garden goal. Having strong leaders that can advisor the organization is important to maintain fuzzy. Also, being able to recognize when an motion has veered off course from the mission and being gifted to rapidly adjust is extremely momentous.

A climate in which these three elements are fostered will around to to soldiers or employees with a strong judgement of initiative.

I kept all of these concepts in uncertain while designing our production system. Any knowledge system on its own cannot create these different elements within a company; our tendency was to create a system and climate that did its best to certify these objectives.

If the company is successful in building and maintaining corporation, establishing a clear mission, and enabling the genius to focus, the end result will hopefully a be a occupation force with a high level of ambitiousness and motivation. We also want the employees to be cocky in their ability to make decisions and complaisant to make them at the appropriate times.

So, how do we develop a system that will track the production and quality details of quite complex product in multiple locations while concurrently fostering group, mission, focus and initiative?

Head honcho Schedule

We started with the mission. We had a overseer schedule and plan that had firm dates for the next 4 to 6 months merit of production requirements. Rather than have this plot live on a spreadsheet or on a wall that no one ever saw, we created a Quickbase database to ill fame this data. The information was online for all to see, both internally and at our industrialist. The intent was to share the Job information with all those affected, the mission being to depart certain product on certain dates. The database contained scheduling low-down, such as kitting dates, lot numbers, consumer, configuration details, etc… A encapsulation report of the schedule was emailed out to all conspire members once a week. This automated email is a quickbase be.

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