I'M REMINDED once again about this old-age question after my weeklong visit of many factories, museums and related facilities last month at Toyota City, formerly known as Koromo City, in Aichi Prefecture, near Nagoya, Japan. The local government changed its name to Toyota City in 1959 to recognize the massive amount of Toyota's contribution to the economic development of the city.
Back to our topical question: When I raised this question to a group of managers who attended my practical workshop on Kaizen Blitz problem solving, many of the ideas given were logical, if not dumb right. Many of the participants came out with a long list of practical solutions, unmindful of its safety issue.
For example, if the engine is in front of the car, it can be cooled easily while the car is running. Probably, this is one reason why we see some taxi drivers here in the tropical Philippines letting their hood slightly unlatched, except they're unmindful of a dangerous situation when traveling at top speed.
Another workshop-participant claimed the engine could protect the driver from a fatal accident. One fellow said drivers can immediately see the damage to the engine and allow them to feel the heat when it gets overheated. When I wrote about this same topic many years back, our workshop participants had forgotten the concept of the horse and cart, which was attributed to automobile inventor Henry Ford (1863-1947).
The horse had always been in front of the cart. It is easier to pull than to push — a basic principle in lean manufacturing. Ford wasted no time in mounting the engine in front of the car.
The automobile industry has come a long way since the time of Ford, but it hasn't changed the horse and cart concept except for the rear-engine format, ideal for air-cooled motors used by Volkswagen. "Most cars have their engines up front," according to thehenryford.org. "This layout strikes a good balance between space, weight distribution and handling — particularly with front-wheel drive."
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The automobile industry is a classic example of when manufacturers are trying very hard to produce better products through kaizen for the Japanese and lean thinking for Western managers.
Brainwriting, not brainstorming
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