This pretty much captures the cultural differences. Yes, the Japanese can get repeatable and reliable processes because they document and specify everything -- they invest the money upfront in planning to avoid the costs of poor quality later where possible. Americans are skilled tradesmen... for stuff that is hard to measure or document, we have guys that "just know" how to finesse parts and make things work, problem is -- it's not repeatable. This is somewhat how the Italians (Ducati, Ferrari, etc) do things as well. It's not engineering per se, it's art and craftsmanship. Quality and process control are second thoughts.* *None of that verbiage above is meant to represent "hard and fast" stereotypes of cultures. A lot of this work is becoming like a hybrid form of manufacturing culture where everyone is beginning to realize the benefits and drawbacks of the Japanese, American, and European methodologies.