Treasure Trove
There is a treasure trove in Nissan's plants. But it's not gold or silver. It's called "NPW." And the man who's "guarding" the hoard is NPW Promotion Expert Leader, Hiroshi Ichikawa.
Forget trinkets and jewels. The treasure Hiroshi Ichikawa is showing us is a book. Its title is NPW - Nissan Production Way. This, he explains, is Nissan's fortune. It looks just like any ordinary booklet, yet the content has been revised twice in nineteen years and is evolving every day. This bibliographic treasure was "minted" in 1994, when Nissan's overseas manufacturing bases were continuing to expand and the product quality it had cultivated in Japan now urgently needed to be transmitted globally. NPW was the bible that Nissan created, invested with all its know-how on making and creating vehicles.
Hiroshi
Ichikawa
Joined
Nissan
Motor
Co.,
Ltd.
in
1982.
General
Manager,
NPW
Promotion
Department.
Created
the
concept
of
"Douki-Seisan"
(Synchronized
Production)
and
developed
global
manufacturing
management.
Head
of
the
Global
Training
Center.
What is Nissan Production?
Ichikawa
has
led
NPW
from
the
start.
"Till
then
Nissan
had
constantly
engaged
with
quality
and
improving
productivity,"
he
says.
"But
we
had
run
into
an
unexpected
wall.
NPW
was
created
out
of
wanting
to
break
through
this
wall.
We
aimed
to
invest
Nissan's
way
of
Monozukuri
(manufacturing)
all
over
the
world."
Defining
this
unique
way
of
Monozukuri
was
the
fundamental
catalyst.
And
from
this
came
the
NPW
concept:
"Two
Never
Endings."
Firstly,
there
is
the
never-ending
synchronization
(Douki)
of
manufacturing
with
Nissan
customers.
This
constructs
a
relationship
of
trust
with
customers.
And
then
secondly,
the
never-ending
quests
to
identity
problems
and
put
in
place
solutions.
This
engages
with
improving
how
to
eliminate
problems
that
arise
in
manufacturing.
Even
in
ten
thousand
vehicles,
not
one
defect
is
to
be
overlooked
and
quality
should
match
the
expectations
of
each
and
every
customer
(Synchronization
of
Quality).
All
manufacturing
processes
without
merit
for
the
customer
are
wasteful
(Synchronization
of
Cost).
Implementing
the
shortest
possible
period
to
final
delivery
by
reducing
not
only
the
production
process
but
also
the
development
lead
time
(Synchronization
of
Time).
NPW
puts
all
of
these
methodologies
on
paper
in
ways
that
are
easy
to
understand
for
readers.
"Sharing
these
'two
never-ending'
concepts
was
the
driving
force
for
creating
innovation
in
manufacturing.
It
changed
manufacturing
to
being
the
overall
optimal
discussion
of
what
we
should
do
to
create
better
Monozukuri
for
the
customer."
And
by
sharing
this
mindset
for
Monozukuri,
around
the
world
they
could
then
start
implementing
concrete
approaches
to
attaining
goals.
For
example,
they
focused
on
the
"flow"
of
materials
and
parts
entering
the
plant,
and
then
eventually
reaching
the
customer.
Another
change
that
arose
was
regarding
information.
The
company
came
to
believe
that
the
best
method
was
not
to
forecast
a
manufacturing
plan,
but
rather
making
a
clear
plan
based
on
information
about
customer
orders,
in
other
words,
a
fixed
time
and
sequence
schedule.
In 1997, the fortune, "Douki-Seisan" (Synchronized Production), was introduced company-wide. It was defined as obtaining customer order information simultaneously by all processes from upper to downstream of lines, and, without causing any off-line repairs, establishing a consistent line flow and production with no production sequence disorder. It meant adopting a whole new concept regarding inventories and data, and a new motto of zero defects, zero breakdowns.
One of the Nissan Production Way books, a bible collecting all the know-how behind Nissan's Monozukuri (manufacturing). It has been revised and updated twice over the past nineteen years.
Inheriting the fortune
Expert
Leader
Hiroshi
Ichikawa
tells
us
a
secret.
"There's
an
even
more
important
treasure
in
Nissan
plants:
People."
NPW
doesn't
use
the
words
"manpower"
or
"human
resources."
It
considers
the
team
to
be
"rich"
in
its
staff,
that
it
has
"personal
assets"
in
the
real
sense
of
the
word.
It
is
due
to
the
strength
of
the
team
that
Synchronized
Production
can
be
implemented.
NPW
is
indispensable
for
building
up
this
"wealth."
"Ultimately,
Monozukuri
is
making
people,
not
things,"
he
says.
"It
is
such
fun
to
see
people
evolving
NPW
by
themselves."
Ichikawa's
NPW
Promotion
department
is
the
team
working
to
convey
the
ethos
of
NPW
to
plants
worldwide.
Their
own
"assets"
are
the
materials
they
take
with
them
to
production
bases
all
over
the
globe
-
not
just
the
NPW
books,
but
also
videos
and
presentations.
That
the
quality
of
Nissan
vehicles
continues
to
improve
is
thanks
to
the
efforts
of
the
NPW
and
the
treasure
it
shares.
And
when
customers
then
get
into
the
results
of
everyone's
endeavors
and
drive
away,
the
fortune
is
inherited
and
passed
onto
where
it
is
really
intended
to
be
spent.