TWI Job Methods—the Original Kaizen Method

Presented By:

Patrick Graupp

Session Abstract:

Today many are familiar with the history of the TWI (Training Within Industry) programs that were developed during WWII and successfully helped industry play a major role in winning the war. In particular, TWI’s Job Instruction component is most widely known as one of the key components to the Toyota Production System where it was adopted after the war to help build a foundation of Standard Work in Lean practice. Perhaps less familiar is TWI’s Job Methods Improvement program which, according to Robinson and Schroeder in their seminal 1993 research reintroducing TWI into the American context, “is often credited for its role in the development of kaizen in Japan.” In fact, the name given by the Japanese to the Job Methods training course in the early 1950’s was, Kaizen no Shi-kata (“The Way to Do Kaizen”).

In this workshop, participants will learn the TWI Job Methods skill using the original course materials and practice applying each of the four steps for improvement on an actual process throughout the day. Job Methods is defined as “a practical plan to help you produce greater quantities of quality products in less time by making the best use of the Manpower, Machines and Materials now available.” We will do just that during this workshop.

One of the key elements of the Job Methods program as it was developed during WWII was to get operators involved in the improvement activity and to seek out their ideas. These ideals were baked into the method and the Japanese learned these lessons well. The leader who masters and uses this method will be well equipped to coach members of the team to participate actively and effectively in finding new and better ways of doing their work. Most of all, this is a simple and straight-forward method that can be used continuously, day in and day out, which is the true spirit of continuous improvement.

As a final workshop exercise, the group will take one aspect of the improvement they make during the day and break it down and teach it using the TWI-Job Instruction method. We will also touch on the role of TWI-Job Relations in creating motivation in people to both follow instructions and make improvement. In this way, attendees will see the synergy between the TWI methods and how they serve as the true foundational skills of a well-rounded and effective leader.

Learning Objectives:

In this full day workshop participants will…

• Learn the TWI Job Methods Improvement plan of breaking down a process and questioning these details to find improvements leading to the creation of a New Method proposal
• Practice and experience the TWI-JM 4 step methodology on an actual process in the workshop
• Experience how mastering TWI-JM gives leaders a repeatable set of practices that they can use to coach their people in continuous improvement
• Practice instructing the New Method using TWI’s Job Instruction method

About the Facilitator:

Patrick began his training career at the SANYO Electric Corporate Training Center in Japan after graduating with Highest Honors from Drexel University in 1980. There he learned to deliver TWI from his mentor Kazuhiko Shibuya. Mr. Shibuya was trained by Kenji Ogawa who was trained by the four TWI Inc. trainers sent from the US to help Japan rebuild industry in 1951. Patrick earned an MBA from Boston University while heading Sanyo’s global training effort. He was later promoted to the head of Human Resources for SANYO North America Corp. in San Diego, CA where he settled.

Patrick partnered with Bob Wrona in 2001 to conduct TWI pilot projects in Syracuse, NY that became the foundation for the TWI Institute which has since trained a rapidly expanding global network of over 1100 certified trainers who are now delivering TWI training in the manufacturing, health care, construction, energy, and service industries in the US and around the globe. These efforts were outlined in their book The TWI Workbook: Essential Skills for Supervisors, a Shingo Research and Professional Publication Prize Recipient for 2007 and now in its Second Edition. Patrick is also the author of Implementing TWI: Creating and Managing a Skills-Based Culture published in 2010, Getting to Standard Work in Health Care: Using TWI to Create a Foundation for Quality Care published in 2012, and Building a Global Learning Organization: Using TWI to Succeed with Strategic Workforce Expansion in the LEGO Group a Shingo Research and Professional Publication Prize Recipient for 2015.