Monozukuri and hitozukuri are indivisibly linked. Only if people are seen as the most important and central production factor within a production system, developed appropriately, and given a working environment where learning and all its implications (i.e. including mistakes) are acceptable and normal, then it is possible to become a truly learning organisation.
Monozukuri refers to a mindset, an attitude that is centred on work and the continuous improvement of the product, process and production system. Seen historically, the concept comes more from the craftsmanship ethic, which centres on knowledge and skill, passion for one's own work and the product, and constant efforts to get closer to perfection. In this sense, Prof. Fujimoto (Tokyo University) describes it as "the art, the science and the craft of making things".
In in all our activities we strive to bring the material element (tools, methods) into balance with the organic element. There is no lean process without knowledge-rich people!
