 It's often been acknowledged that manufacturer Formula 1 teams such as Panasonic Toyota Racing enjoy the benefits of two-way technology transfer with the road car business. Racing improves the breed, and in turn teams can take advantage of the technical resources that their parent companies have access to, such as R&D or production facilities that are beyond the scope of motor sport budgets.
It's rather less obvious how a racing team can benefit by adopting management philosophies or techniques. What can a lean and mean, fast-reacting Formula 1 team learn from the methods used by a global corporation? The conventional wisdom is: not a great deal. In fact, it is widely assumed that the more freedom a race team has to follow its own path, the better.  | Toyota has proved that theory wrong. The introduction of Toyota Production System techniques to the racing operation in Cologne has resulted in clear benefits that can be readily quantified. Pit stops are quicker, and engine and chassis developments reach the track earlier than they did previously. The bottom line is that TF106 will be more competitive as a direct result of TPS, and even the most sceptical race-bred veteran acknowledges that is no bad thing. |
In the years before the Cologne operation moved from rallying to Le Mans to Formula 1, and thus underwent rapid expansion in a matter of months, there was less need for formalised adoption of Toyota's methods. | "Toyota Team Europe was a very small company," says Toshikazu Chimura, current TPS Project Leader in Cologne. "And therefore work and communication was very efficient. Even if they didn't follow the TPS or Toyota philosophy, they still worked towards one goal. They could solve problems as quickly as possible. I believe during that period the TTE members, without having any knowledge of the TPS, were using its principles. |  |
 | However, after starting the F1 project we expanded very quickly and you could say there was a kind of chaos or confusion! In effect our expansion was too rapid. One day our president, Mr Fujio Cho, said we should apply TPS to the F1 project." |
| The first area of focus involved perfecting pit stop techniques, which was overseen by former TPS Project Leader at Toyota Motorsport, Toshihiko Akioka. Subsequently TPS was used to improve efficiency in two key areas of the factory, namely engine production and the composite department. Those projects have proved successful, and other disciplines are currently being tackled. |  |
Inevitably there was some initial resistance from people steeped in a background of motor racing, and used to a certain way of doing things. | "It's still very difficult, honestly speaking," says John Howett. "Racing people are very proud, rightly so in some ways, and Formula 1 is different. The question often is what's in it for me? As human beings none of us like change, we're resistant to it. The Toyota process is almost constant change, which people initially completely resist. But if you want to find more gain you almost have to change every day. |
| On the other hand in most organisations people don't really know what they're going to do, or how they contribute. They just come in they pick up a file, they file a part that's come out of an SLA machine, they give it to somebody else. When it really begins to work the people understand more purpose to their job, and somehow feel that their contribution is more recognised. |  |
 | I still think we're not good enough in TMG yet, but once they get away from the 'I've done it for 20 years and know everything about making F1 parts' thing, they realise it's not threatening, and they understand the gains, their job normally gets easier. And then the value of their job, in terms of internal self-fulfilment, becomes more positive." |
One early convert was Richard Cregan, General Manager of F1 Operations. He was directly involved in the pit stop project, and has subsequently encouraged the wider use of TPS within the company. | "We try to implement as much of the TPS as possible," says Cregan. "And we have improved the development time, we've improved the manufacturing time, and we have reduced the build time. A lot of that achievement is down to TPS programmes that we have in-house. |  |
 | From the sound of it people often believe that TPS is only relevant to production based organisations. Personally I prefer to refer to it more as a Toyota philosophy system rather than a production system, whereby it helps you apply common sense in how you approach your whole planning process, your problem solving process, team work, everything. |
| The success of 2005 has helped all of those issues. You can feel it now in the company that there is a far better co-operation between departments, a far better understanding of each department's problems, and this is the main reason why we're able to bring the TF106 out at such an early stage." After the success of the initial projects, TPS is being incorporated into other areas of the company, and as more people understand it, so that process becomes easier. |  |
 | "Now we're expanding the knowledge and ability to the whole company," says Chimura. "Not only production, but also other necessary functions. And also we're developing people who can introduce this process by themselves, and who can also influence other members through their knowledge and experience." Among them is Alain Longueville, a long time Cologne employee who now focuses on implementing TPS as a Senior Co-ordinator. |
| "Part of the power of the whole thing is that it shouldn't be just a few experts that do it or explain it, but that 600 people understand it and come in every morning and say right, let's see what we can improve. The power of that is enormous." |  |
 | Alain agrees with John Howett that it isn't always easy to convince those who have spent their life in motor sport teams: "In F1 there are a lot of very, very strong people, who don't have a lot of time. There's always a tendency to say, "I've done this before, I know how it works, this is the way we do it, don't ask me any questions. |
| But it is about getting the trust of people, and you can only get it by leaving your office, going downstairs and talking to the people. You sometimes even get your hands dirty yourself, try out some operations so that you really know what you're talking about." |  |
The significant thing is that the TPS programmes have produced clear results, and encouraged improvements that ultimately have an effect on performance on the track. | Mike Gascoyne needs no convincing: "What other F1 team could bring a new car out three races from the end of the season, and then another car out six weeks after the season's finished, and then another one seven races into the next season? |
| That is a sign that Toyota is becoming a leader not a follower. Our development strategy is quite innovative compared to any other team. Applying these principles allows you to do that. People say we can do three cars in a year because we spend a load of money, but actually the budget and the head count have gone down over the last two years. But you can do that and still produce a lot more if you are efficient." |  |
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