John Chandler

John Chandler is the founder and managing director (MD) of Lean Systems and Projects, a company focussed on Lean Systems training, implementation as well as mentoring. He is currently, via his company, and Opis Advisory, acting managing director of Technique Manufacturing, a tier one supplier to Toyota South Africa (SA) in business rescue.

John grew up in in Amanzimtoti where he attended Warner Beach Primary School, Kingsway High School and Natal Technicon.

John’s first job was an assembly operator at the International Harvester heavy truck and yellow metal assembly plant in Umbilo Road in Durban. His father, an old-style sales engineer at the factory, decided that he should learn how to assemble trucks before training as an engineer. The assembly job did not last for long, but created a love of heavy trucks, equipment, and manufacturing.

Probably because of the love of big trucks and traveling, John applied to the South African Railways and Harbours (SAR&H) to be a truck driver. He was turned down and instead invited to complete an aptitude test that resulted in him joining the SAR&H trainee civil engineering programme. The interviewer had decided that this candidate was applying for a job normally set aside for non-matriculants. The test resulted in John being requested to report to Johannesburg to start a five-year civil engineering diploma.

John then joined Toyota SA in 1980 as a buyer, culminating as general manager of engineering in the Toyota Stamping Division. He spent a total of 20 years inside the Toyota fold. For most of these years John was directly involved in setting up aspects of the Toyota Production System (TPS), often referred to as ‘Lean’.

His next move was to Hesto Harnesses, a Metair company manufacturing wire harnesses for Toyota SA. Again, his career in Hesto lasted 20 years, with the last 10 years as managing director. Over the years, jobs increased from 1350 to briefly, just over 10 000 at the start of the Ford localisation project.

SEEING FACTORIES GROW
John retired in June 2021 at 69 years of age, fully intending to tour southern Africa in a camper van as had always been the plan. During the camper van test though, he received a call from the new Hesto MD asking if he was interested in implementing kanban systems into the new Ford factory. This strangely, excited him more than the camper van trip, but rather than be constricted to fixed hours, it was agreed that the contract would be via a new company, and so Lean Systems and Projects was born.

Meanwhile, John started receiving calls from many different industries including the clothing industry, to view their factories and to provide training. The most exciting call was received in 2023 when he was asked to act as temporary MD for Technique Manufacturing, a position still held today.

“I think that my purpose and what excites me most, is to see factories grow sustainably and to compete with the best in the world. We have to increase jobs in a country that desperately needs more,” explained John.

The accomplishment that makes him the proudest is having always being part of teams that have taken on and overcome the many challenges facing South African manufacturing. This includes Toyota SA, Hesto Harnesses and most recently Technique Manufacturing.

These teams have collectively and individually faced many problems which could have created job losses. Just to be associated with these teams from operator to executive teams during Covid, floods riots and other significant challenges creates a sense of awe, pride and belonging, explained John.

JUST DO IT
Over the years, John has received much good advice from many ‘heroes’. The advice that probably had the biggest effect on his life, however, are the words used so often by his first manager at Toyota, George Hunt: “Why don’t you just do it”. This sentence, long before Nike adopted it, kicked into his head in so many situations, from getting out of bed for a morning run, to being the kickstart when unsure of what direction to take.

In 2010 John was promoted to MD of Hesto Harnesses who were not doing well in the metrics of quality, cost, delivery, or shareholder profits. That year, John watched a competitor walk off the stage with many awards, while he left the function empty handed. The message was clear that Hesto at that point needed to do something, but what?

A meeting was called with all Hesto employees to explain the problem and to find a solution. It was agreed that the simple plan was to ensure they targeted prizes for the next year. If nobody cut themselves, they could win a safety award. If nobody made a defect, they could possibly win a quality award, and so on.

Very soon it became apparent that collectively, employees were able to improve in the areas important to the customer as indicated by the award categories. Hesto now had a direction.

Later, a more sophisticated plan was drawn up using input from many people, including customers, employees, shareholders and JV Partners. The result was that Hesto began to win awards, and each award was shared with the entire workforce, always lighting up the internet. The joint improvement plan and KPIs also meant that profits improved significantly.

To keep one’s team motivated John says that employees need a greater purpose than arriving at work to earn a wage. They need to believe that they are a part of the company and that they can make a difference in creating a sustainable future. Employees must be proud of THEIR company and their role and responsibility in it.

John’s biggest inspiration is Ralph Broadley, a past MD of Toyota Manufacturing, non-executive director at Metair, and John’s appointed mentor back in 2010 when finding his feet as MD. Even now at 91, Ralph checks up on John to ensure he remains on track.

In conclusion said John, “The impossible is only impossible if you don’t start the journey toward a common end goal.”