Hiroyuki Hirano

Name: Hiroyuki Hirano.
Country: Japan.
Birth: 1946 (Tokyo, Japan).
Education: 1970: Bachelor of Economics, Senshu University.

Biography:
Author and management expert, after graduating he joined a large software company and worked in the consulting department, and from there he first laid the theoretical foundation for the pure Japanese production management system, and after leaving the software company, Hirano founded (JIT Management Laboratory Company. Ltd), and Hirano helped in what was called the Just-in-Time (JIT) production revolution, where Hirano helped dozens of companies inside and outside Japan to implement (JIT), and Hirano also contributed with (Takashi Osada) to establish and develop the concept of the 5S workplace organization technique, where Hirano – in the nineties – completed the basic work that Osada started in this direction, and in contrast to many managers (who consider that decision-making depends on the locations of materials and tools and on the flow of work in the workplace, and during this process unnecessary processes or materials are excluded or removed, or stored elsewhere), Hirano pointed out, through the distinction between (Sorting) and (Set in Order), that any effort to plan or start work before eliminating unnecessary elements will often lead to undesirable solutions, and Hirano also pointed out that applying the 5S technique ensures the foundation for continuous improvement and thus helps companies survive and compete. He also pointed out that companies that fail to implement this technique cannot be expected to effectively carry out large-scale change operations such as re-engineering and others. Hirano also recalled the experiences of “Hawthorne”, where he pointed out that all people often seek to bring about change, and when people believe that the change program is under the supervision and focus of management, then there will be a continuation of the benefits of change, but if management supervision is removed, performance will decline again.

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Publications: (Get it via Amazon)
-2009: Book (JIT Implementation Manual).
-1998: Book (Putting 5s to Work).
-1996: Book (5s for Operators).
-1995: Book (5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace).