Toyota drives the Kitchen

Airline caterers have learnt a lot from the automotive industry – despite the indisputable differences between an automobile and a first-class menu.

(firmenpresse) - Much has changed in the airline industry since the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, resulting not only in huge increases in security and controls but also in significant changes for airline caterers. Almost overnight the airlines slashed their budgets for in-flight service or in some cases cut them completely, thus putting their service providers under enormous pressure to act.
Lean Management, which has been a formula for success in the automotive industry for decades, rapidly became an issue of central importance for air-line catering. The production system of the world’s most successful automobile manufacturer - Toyota – became the model for efficient and high quality work practises. However, it soon became clear that the application of Lean Management in the highly flexible air-line catering environment posed some unique problems and that a Toyota and an economy sandwich are two very different products. Many an automotive guru reacted with wide-eyed astonishment when attempting to standardise work processes using six-sigma methods in the highly dynamic production of perishable goods.
Air-line catering is characterised by two uncontrollable factors. Firstly air travel is highly dependent on weather and passenger volume. Demand is not only seasonal but can change within hours as a result of adverse weather conditions or trade fairs and exhibitions. Accordingly flexibility and efficiency are of the essence.
Secondly, there are very few businesses whose customers can change an order without prior notice. Airlines can, for example change products or menus or even opt for return-flight catering – all of which have a serious impact on the productivity and bottom line of the catering provider. Under such pressure Lean Management is most definitely the correct approach to guarantee simultaneous flexibility, quality improvement and cost reduction.
However, a successful Lean Management strategy must include five basic elements: Lean Product Development, Lean Logistics, Lean Production, Lean Quality and Lean Operations.

Successful Lean Product Development starts with the menu presentation – the value stream of the caterer is here of central importance. The product the customer selects will decide whether productivity will increase or decrease and can have an incalculable
effect on margins. The introduction of a professional building-block principle has proved to be very successful. This allows sales departments to pro-actively develop creative menus which offer high product diversity without unexpected losses in productivity. In this way situations, such as faced by one airline during the European Cup in Portugal can be avoided. The company had included Portuguese sardines in its special menu but had overlooked the fact that sardines are only available in standard packing. This resulted in six employees being solely occupied with the task of opening cans for several weeks. This cost factor was not included in any pricing estimate. Lean Principle Number 1: ‘The customer determines the product and only pays for what he gets’.
The next element to be considered is Lean Logistics – here it is not only the best price which is important, but also the effect the product will have on the total supply chain. The final destination of the product is not the cold-storage depot but the passenger’s tray, thus both handling and packing have a high impact on the increase or decrease of productivity. There are numerous examples of dysfunctional purchasing strategies – from ignoring the cost of packing to additional costs for waste disposal or poor delivery frequency. All these factors can decrease productivity and increase storage costs. One airline catering service provider once attempted to develop a logistics concept based on the model of the automotive supplier industry. Although financially attractive the concept had one crucial disadvantage: the logistics chain was optimized to such a degree that the food stuffs were purchased at very good prices but were four days in transit and some were already spoilt on arrival. Lean Principle Number 2 – ‘The customer determines the product and only pays for what he gets – goods of the correct quality.’
The third element, Lean Production, is where most of the Toyota Production System tools can be applied, as they stand, to airline catering. However most companies still concentrate on final production and dish-wash where the most well known tools such as 5S, FIFO and Poka Yoke can be easily applied. The complexity and flexibility of the processes in both cold and hot food kitchens are frequently ignored, although quality improvement, employee integration and an increase in productivity could be easily achieved without resistance in these areas by using a combination of lean tools and teamwork. The involvement of all employees in the process provides the basis for high quality and efficient work.
Furthermore, the ‘big lever’ i.e. analytical and human resources planning are all too often neglected. Tools capable of determining manpower requirements at a particular time are extremely rare. It is usual practise to use systems data which have been
stored for years and in no way reflect reality. It is nice to know whether you were good or bad yesterday, but the revelation comes just a little too late. There are very few production systems in airline catering that are pro-active and based on real data.
The fourth point is Lean Quality. Pressure on the caterers to decrease costs in the last years has resulted in most of them placing more emphasis on productivity than on quality. Here Lean Management is practised but not lived – because a good process will automatically produce good quality. It is of utmost importance to involve and train the employees and to make expectations absolutely clear. This brings us to Lean Principle Number 3: ‘Do it right first time!’
Lastly Lean Operations concentrates on the efficient logistical planning of the transport fleet. A large number of firms have already been very successful in this area. Transport costs in airline catering account on average for 35% of all labour costs. They constitute not only the highest cost factor but also the most sensitive. Here the customer is presented with both the product and the service – and the first step towards a positive brand image is taken. New systems now available simplify the management of the fleets and ensure significant improvements in on-time delivery.
Following the massive disruptions of September 2001, there have been a great many changes in airline catering. Under the pressure of events, changes have been initiated that other sectors in industry have long since undergone. But there is still much to do. Instead of individual Kaizen Events and Clean Clear Organize campaigns, we should be focusing on more demanding subjects such as integrative quality and analytical production planning and formulating standardised production systems. As far as Lean is concerned, we can only hope that the airline catering industry continues to follow the lead of the automobile industry.

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Datum: 19.01.2009 - 08:55 Uhr
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