Before moving on to the third factor of #Reliability, we will examine the human factor. Especially in #Society5.0, the future will be human-centered and science-based. Setting strategies will become much more important. Short-term strategies will be inadequate and feeble. At the heart of Lean Production, TPS (TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM), and Flexible Production System lies the human element and respect for humans. HOSHINKANRI is a 5-year strategic plan based on reliability factors, outputs, and data analysis. However, 5 years are no longer enough as data analysis will be more effectively utilized in the knowledge society, so we must prepare our strategic plans for 10 years.

Before diving into the details, I will talk about field control within the Toyota Production System and share my experiences. In the Toyota organization, there is a central Overseas department. All overseas factories and systems are connected to this department. The field management of all white-collar organizations abroad is done using Hoshin Kanri with this department. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and targets to be tracked are determined separately for each factory in line with the main company of Hoshin Kanri. It was the early days of 2004. An interesting warning came from the Overseas department. They foresaw a global crisis that would affect the entire world in 2009-2010. Despite the publication of Hoshin Kanri, they asked for a study and report on what measures we planned to take. I prepared and sent an A3. The reliability factors were quite interesting. They predicted a contraction of 20-25% for 2010. Time was very tight, and action needed to be taken immediately. When I examined the data they evaluated, I predicted that the initial contraction would be around 30%. I planned everything accordingly. I divided my planning into 3 main headings; 1) Production Area, 2) Human Resources, and 3) General Expenses.

The production lines were the easiest. Production line management is divided into two main groups: production base units (press, welding, assembly, paint, casting, machining, etc.) and production support units (quality control, quality assurance, engineering, R&D, mold, procurement, etc.). If you leave these two groups face to face, you’ll be surprised at how quickly your system collapses. In the Toyota Production System, the department that balances between these two groups and protects the system is the Production Planning and Control department.

The most challenging part was Human Resources planning. Until that point, we were working with 2% temporary staff (candidate employer). This was a standard complaint in all departments. It was a classic excuse for failure. Talking to all department managers, I said that we would close each quarter of 2004 with a 2-point increase, and this would mean reaching 35% temporary staff by 2010. I asked for their support. One of the most objecting ones was the Human Resources Department. They thought it would be difficult to change so many employees and that they would struggle to find new ones. When I explained my solution, they were somewhat convinced. The expenses I paid for Human Resources were also a significant amount. At that time, the performance bonuses received by employees constituted 5% of their income when they achieved their targets. Without disturbing any employees, I increased this to 7% from employees and 8% from the company, making it a total of 20% performance bonus. Non-permanent staff could not benefit from this performance bonus. Since becoming permanent meant a 5% salary increase and a 20% performance bonus, it was easy to find contractual staff and their performances were almost perfect. By the middle of 2008, 35% of the company’s employees were temporary staff, and the performance bonus had reached 20%. I announced that if the company did not make a profit in 2007, only half of the performance bonus could be given. Each department had separate targets to reduce general expenses.

In the last quarter of 2008, a major global crisis erupted. It had come almost 1.5 years earlier than expected. The success of the Production Control and Planning department was tremendous. They had succeeded in reducing the stock for the company from 17 days to 4.7 days. All departments had increased their productivity more than expected. Temporary employment contracts were terminated without encountering any problems in a short period of 2 months. It was an important reliability study conducted together with Overseas. We came out of the 2008-2012 global crisis with almost no damage.

Today, a challenging future awaits us. We have to make our strategic plans for 10 years. Companies trying to do this are striving to create a new department in their organizations. This new department is the reliability department. Many global companies are looking for a Reliability Manager. #Reliability, has become so important. Usually, aviation, then the automotive sector, led these developments, but this time, the pharmaceutical industry took the first step. What qualities should an ideal reliability expert have? Unfortunately, Reliability courses are not taught in our country. I am probably one of the students who last took this course from my teacher, Alp Esin. This was the course I used and benefited from the most in my professional life. Reliability experts must first have very strong field experience, have received theoretical knowledge and training, must have worked as operators in all processes, must have performed maintenance at least once, must have managed maintenance once, and should have known FMEA(Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) and have applied it.

The reliability department is critical to the sustainability of the company and the organization. It is not too late today. Companies should immediately identify Reliability Leader candidates in each department within the organization and plan all their orientations. For those who ask if it is a good idea to produce leaders in reliability? I will tell you the answer Mahatma Gandhi gave when asked what he thought of Western civilization. He said, “It would have been good.” He said he felt it was a good idea. This is the same as my thought when evaluating system management from the perspective of reliability. How can you turn someone who has never led into a leader? This is where most mistakes are made. They think they’ll become leaders overnight. Those who think that a magical wand called a job description or you are my coach, you are my spiritual son can create a leader are mistaken. There is no magic wand. Success can be achieved with systems that are scientifically planned and analyzed using both scientific and local data. When I first read “The Death of Reliability,” I was very impressed. I try to increase my experiences by making small quotations from every book when I read. I recommend it to you too.

Asset management is an internal process that many companies must take on at some point in their business strategy cycles. Although these companies may be in different industries, the strategy for optimizing their technical departments (i.e., maintenance, engineering, quality, facilities, etc.) is approximately 90% the same. Therefore, the approach to improving asset management does not change much, whether across industries or within different departments within a company. As I said, there are two critical sections here, the first being the Production Planning and Control department, and the second being the Reliability department. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, product safety is a major concern. In the food industry, there is a balance between traceability and cost to be considered. For most automotive manufacturers, working time and productivity are significant factors that help assess operational efficiency. While the principles and building blocks of operational excellence assessment are largely based on similar strategies, the goals may vary from sector to sector.

In the 1850s, each new piece of information doubled every 45 years.

In the 1990s, this period had shortened to one every 3 years.

In 2011, it was every two years.

Today, it’s doubling or tripling in every year.

That’s why we need data analysts and reliability experts. Access to information is now free, especially online, and this is not only true for the boss. The bar for access to information is so low that almost everyone, everywhere can learn a lot of topics. With information being so accessible to all people, we have witnessed a significant transition from the 2D Information Age to the 3D Information Age. In 10 years, the 4D information age will begin. Only those who are prepared will survive.

Let me explain the situation with a small example. There will be a serious drinking water crisis in these lands in 10 years. While you see the accident in Erzincan as a simple mining accident, I perceive it as an acceleration of the process. Please, let’s all put our hands under the stone together before it’s too late and we are buried under the debris.