Best Practices usage in Japan vs US Military Standards usage

This is an excerpt from JTEC Panel on Electronic Manufacturing and Packaging in Japan :

In terms of reliability, the Japanese proactively develop good
design, using simulation and prototype qualification, that is
based on advanced materials and packaging technologies.
Instead of using military standards, most companies use
internal commercial best practices. Most reliability problems
are treated as materials or process problems. Reliability
prediction methods using models such as Mil-Hdbk-217 are not
used. Instead, Japanese firms focus on the "physics of
failure" by finding alternative materials or improved
processes to eliminate the source of the reliability problem.
The factories visited by the JTEC panel are well equipped to
address these types of problems.

Assessment methods. Japanese firms identify the areas that
need improvement for competitive reasons and target those
areas for improvement. They don't try to fix everything; they
are very specific. They continuously design products for
reduced size and cost and use new technologies only when
performance problems arise. As a result, most known
technologies have predictable reliability characteristics.

Infrastructure. The incorporation of suppliers and customers
early in the product development cycle has given Japanese
companies an advantage in rapid development of components and
in effective design of products. This is the Japanese approach
to concurrent engineering and is a standard approach used by
the companies the JTEC panel visited. The utilization of
software tools like design for assembly allows for rapid
design and is an integral part of the design team's
activities. At the time of the panel's visit, design for
disassembly was becoming a requirement for markets such as
Germany. Suppliers are expected to make required investments
to provide the needed components for new product designs.
Advanced factory automation is included in the design of new
factories.

Training. The Japanese view of training is best exemplified by
Nippondenso. The company runs its own two-year college to
train production workers. Managers tend to hold four-year
degrees from university engineering programs. Practical
training in areas such as equipment design takes place almost
entirely within the company. During the first six years of
employment, engineers each receive 100 hours per year of
formal technical training. In the sixth year, about 10% of the
engineers are selected for extended education and receive 200
hours per year of technical training. After ten years about 1%
are selected to become future executives and receive
additional education. By this time, employees have earned the
equivalent of a Ph.D. degree within the company. Management
and business training is also provided for technical managers.
In nonengineering fields, the fraction that become managers is
perhaps 10%.

Ibiden uses "one-minute" and safety training sessions in every
manufacturing sector. "One-minute" discussions are held by
section leaders and workers using visual aids that are
available in each section. The subjects are specific to facets
of the job like the correct way to use a tool or details about
a specific step in the process. The daily events are intended
to expose workers to additional knowledge and continuous
training. As a consequence, workers assure that production
criteria are met. Ibiden also employs a quality patrol that
finds and displays examples of poor quality on large bulletin
boards throughout the plant. Exhibits the panel saw included
anything from pictures of components or board lots sitting
around in corners, to damaged walls and floors, to ziplock
bags full of dust and dirt.

The factory. Japanese factories pay attention to running
equipment well, to continuous improvement, to cost reduction,
and to waste elimination. Total preventive maintenance (TPM)
is a methodology to ensure that equipment operates at its most
efficient level and that facilities are kept clean so as not
to contribute to reliability problems. In fact, the Japan
Management Association gives annual TPM awards with prestige
similar to the Deming Prize, and receipt of those awards is
considered a required step for companies that wish to attain
the Japan Quality Prize. No structured quality or reliability
techniques are used - just detailed studies of operations, and
automated, smooth-running, efficient production.