The AOTS regularly invites shop-floor workers from other countries to familiarise them with the experiments being carried out in Japanese industry but this lot of professionals included specialists from disciplines as diverse as banking and psychiatry.

City-based psychiatrist, Rajendra Barwe, who participated in the programme told Express Newsline, ``Visits to Japanese car factories may seem irrelevant to a student of mental health, but it is a learning experience. Despite facing natural calamities and the devastation caused by the atom bomb, the Japanese have adopted novel ways to maintain high-motivation levels and controlstress.''.

He said that over 80,000 Japanese school children visit the Toyota car factory annually so that they are exposed to a top-class manufacturing process at a tender age. Dr Barwe said the human being is of prime importance in the Japanese manufacturing world, unlike other countries where workers mean little. The Toyota factory, for example, has 9,000 robots to look after hazardous operations. In effect, accidents among the workmen are few and production occurs at a faster rate - one car every 76 seconds.

Dr Barwe spoke of the ruku ruku chair devised entirely by Japanese shop-floor workers. ``The chair enables the worker to carry out a technical task without bending or harming his posture,'' he explained.

Japanese management systems follow the system of Kaizen which means ``doing it better than before''. As per the system, all industries (over two lakh) give importance to On-the-Job Training (OJT). Workers gather during or after office hours to discuss ways of self-improvement. The company'severy function - from accounts to the canteen - is open for improvement.

``A worker is employed when he is in high school and taught various operations till he turns 35. The company assures him job security, incentives and protection to the family. The importance of hard work and self-improvement is constantly driven home. In this manner, every industry creates a loyal, committed workforce,'' Dr Barve observes.

Moreover, the workforce is oriented in such a manner that work becomes virtue. Job-hopping is not fashionable in Japan as going from job to job is considere detrimental for an organisation. `` Not money but work itself motivates people. They believe, and quite rightly so, that a workforce remains motivated only when the work offers room for creativity. No wonder, every car on the assembly line is an individual product.''