ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some Keys individually and shows how factories can quantify their current level in each key and can plan and enact corrective actions to get to higher levels. The order in which these Keys are implemented and the target levels in each key may differ according to where the factory is currently weakest or where it most wants to emphasize improvement. After a factory has been running its production in a certain way for a long time, people tend not to think about ways they could change things to build manufacturing strength. Stability leads to complacency. Many people are reluctant to admit areas where their company is inferior to competitors in the same country or region, which makes it hard to get an accurate self-evaluation. The company was facing an urgent need to boost productivity so as to remain competitive on the domestic market, which had been experiencing a shift toward moving production overseas.
