Henry Ford embarrassed himself later in life and left his company with a dark legacy surrounding his public and published anti-Semitism. He’s certainly no role model, but his genius for manufacturing is legendary, and he is easy, even fun, to read when he focuses on business. He had a gift for envisioning simple solutions to unsolved engineering and business issues.
As an example, here are excerpts from Ford’s My Life and Work (available from Amazon and B&N) that I categorized by current topics that challenge us still today:
Continuous improvement
Hardly a week passes without some improvement being made somewhere in machine or process…The factory keeps no record of experiments. The foremen and the superintendents remember what has been done.
Not a single operation is ever considered as being done in the best or cheapest way.
Try new processes
The saving on one style of bolt alone amounted to half a million dollars a year.
Engaging Everyone in Continuous Improvement
We get some of our best results from letting fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
None of our men are “experts.” The moment one gets into the “expert” state of mind a great number of things become impossible.
Target costing
We have never considered any costs as fixed. Our policy is to reduce the price, extend the operations, and improve the article. You will notice that the reduction of price comes first.
reference: web leanexecutive.com
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