Lean Enterprise Institute Logo
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Cart (0)
  • Account
  • Search
Lean Enterprise Institute Logo
  • Explore Lean
        • What is Lean?
        • The Lean Transformation Framework
        • A Brief History of Lean
        • Lexicon Terms
        • Topics to explore
          • Operations
          • Lean Product & Process Development
          • Administration & Support
          • Problem-Solving
          • Coaching
          • Executive Leadership
          • Line Management
  • The Lean Post
        • Subscribe to see exclusive content
          • Subscribe
        • Featured posts
          Webinar Learning tour: Person at machine

          Discover the Lean Leadership Learning Tour: A...

          Putting People First

          Putting People First

          • See all Posts
  • Events & Courses
        • Forms and Templates
        • Featured learning
          • Improvement Kata/Coaching Kata Remotely

            October 16, 2023 | Coach-Led Online Course

          • Key Concepts of Lean Management Remotely 

            October 23, 2023 | Coach-Led Online Course

          • Executing Strategy: Connecting Hoshin to Daily Management and A3 

            October 30, 2023 | Coach-Led Online Course

          • Building a Lean Operating and Management System 

            November 07, 2023 | Morgantown, Pennsylvania

          • See all Events
  • Training & Consulting for Organizations​
        • Interested in exploring a partnership with us?
          • Schedule a Call
        • Getting Started
        • Leadership Development
        • Custom Training
        • Enterprise Transformation​
  • Store
        • Shopping Cart
        • Featured books
          Managing to Learn: Using the A3 management process

          Managing to Learn: Using the A3 management process

          Learning to See

          Learning to See

          • See all Books
  • About Us
        • Our people
          • Senior Advisors and Staff
          • Faculty
          • Board of Directors
        • Contact Us
        • Lean Global Network
        • Press Releases
        • In the News
        • Careers
        • About us

The Lean Post / Articles / Problem Solving Fast and Slow

Problem Solving Fast and Slow

Problem Solving

Problem Solving Fast and Slow

By Ben Root

July 15, 2014

"There are many paradoxes about the Toyota Production System," writes Ben Root. "Speed is certainly one of them. 'Do it slowly, but quickly.'" Read more.

FacebookTweetLinkedInEmailPrintComment

In my role as an instructor at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Japan, I got to witness top leaders solve problems. They would literally rush into a meeting room, or more often, to a piece of paper on a wall in the production area, and talk rather animatedly about the information in front of them. 

Once I observed three or four people all writing and talking about a problem at the same time, and in just a few minutes they had drawn the problem (literally drawn a picture of the problem), set a goal, completed a quick cause and effect diagram, and created a plan to investigate what they thought to be the cause of the problem. 

To an outsider, this type of quick problem solving was amazing. Seeing this team’s thinking process, analysis, and communication in action was like watching a professional sports team make an awesome play at the end of the game.  

However, this is not what Toyota encouraged us to do as team members on the shopfloor. If they saw us jump from the problem to the solution, they would often say, “Not enough thinking. Please do more investigation.” To them, fast wasn’t necessarily good. We learned to go slow and be thorough. But, after much practice, we became very good at looking at a problem, doing analysis, and solving the problem quickly. This same pattern went for Job Instruction. At first our training was slow, but over time we learned to train quickly. And we saw that standardized work would eventually also be completed by experts with pencil and paper in a very short time. 

I could probably think of a few more examples of “fast Lean” at Toyota, but honestly, speed was never the motivation for making an improvement. Of course, when there was a machine breakdown the maintenance team would rush to the machine similar to a paramedic rushing to an accident. They would treat the machine as though it had just had a heart attack, making sure not to waste one motion in trying to restore the machine to health. Time lost was measured in seconds, not minutes or hours. The same was true when the assembly line was down or a quality issue arose. Problem solving teams attacked the problem with unbelievable speed and efficiency.

There are many paradoxes about the Toyota Production System. Speed is certainly one of them. “Do it slowly, but quickly.” Another is “make sure everything is standardized, but constantly improve.” Fascinating, isn’t it? 

FacebookTweetLinkedInEmailPrintComment

Written by:

Ben Root

About Ben Root

Ben Root received his Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management, Training and Development from Golden Gate University and his B.S. degree in Business Management from Kent State University. As a certified instructor from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Japan, he held management roles at both at New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI)…

Read more about Ben Root

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

turning theory to action

Problem Solving

The Future of Lean Learning: Introducing LEI’s Innovative Online Education

Webinar by Masia Goodman

baker putting bread overage to scrap pile

Problem Solving

How Technology and Data Can Enhance Your Company’s Problem-Solving Capability 

Article by Lean Leaper

WLEI Podcast with author Paulo Savaget of The Four Workarounds

Problem Solving

Strategies for Tackling Complex Problems: a Conversation with Paolo Savaget

Podcast by Tom Ehrenfeld

Related books

The Power of Process book cover

The Power of Process – A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development

by Eric Ethington and Matt Zayko

Welcome Problems, Find Success – Creating Toyota Cultures Around the World

Welcome Problems, Find Success – Creating Toyota Cultures Around the World

by Nate Furuta

Related events

October 16, 2023 | Coach-Led Online Course

Improvement Kata/Coaching Kata Remotely

Learn more

November 07, 2023 | Morgantown, Pennsylvania

Building a Lean Operating and Management System 

Learn more

Explore topics

Problem Solving graphic icon Problem Solving

Subscribe to get the very best of lean thinking delivered right to your inbox

Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

©Copyright 2000-2023 Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
Lean Enterprise Institute, the leaper image, and stick figure are registered trademarks of Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Learn More. ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!