A Comparative Study of Lean and Mass Production System: Toyota and Ford

Optimization of machinery so that production setups are not required for small customizations which can be managed manually.

The case describes the details about the production process of Toyota and the principles they are following, like JIT & Jidoka in Toyota Production System (TPS), heijunka & kaizen. How they have control the cost, maintain quality through process

In business nowadays, the trend of manufacturing is shifting from mass production (MP) concept into mass customization (MC) concept. Mass production is an “old” concept practiced and popularized by Henry Ford that produces a

productivity is high with reduced labour cost as a result of less man hours. But most

In existing layout the production line is very long, starting from preparatory to the end of assembly. Because of this, communication and information flow is difficult and for each and every thing supervisor has to walk around the line frequently. In case of new layout (cellular layout) the information flow is effective and quick. Because, the group of people who are in the same cell, works in compact area where each operator is in direct contact with other operator of the cell and they know each other’s job inside the cell. This makes information flow fast and accurate. Whereas this cannot be achieved in long assembly line; where one operator is in contact with only two operators (one operator before and one operator after his operation) so neither he can give any suggestion nor he knows the issues of other operation i.e. workers are not participating in each other’s work, rather working independently.

Ford realized that he must change his methods of production in order to decrease the price of his automobiles. His invention of the assembly line actually started before the Model T came out, but Ford did not know it at the time. The Model N was built prior to the Model T. The workers on the Model N automobiles placed the parts in order along the floor while the “under-construction” auto was on skids and moved down the line. The workers placed their respective parts on the machine as it passed by. For the Model T, Ford tried to make his process even better. He broke the assembly process into 84 small steps. On top of this, workers were trained for only one of the 84 steps. By having a machine that could make interchangeable parts faster than any human, the process accelerated quickly and there was no shortage on supplies. With the combination of the new parts machine, line of workers trained per step, and an order of parts, the assembly line was born. Figure 1 below shows the wheels and hubcaps of Model T cars being assembled using the assembly line. The excessive amounts

Assembly line is a mixed bag. It undeniably enhances the productivity of work which is not only confined to manufacturing industries, but it also dehumanizes work. It is foreseeable that this strategy will still be conducted for the sake of competitive advantage. However, the requirement of different mental and conceptual abilities in workplaces is not negligible. Overweighing monetary reward while doing work impersonally to pursue optimal performance may not be feasible in long

Through dividing up the labor, a worker could focus all of his attention on one single task and master it. The man who cut the iron, knew exactly where to cut it every time. He could see it with his eyes and didn’t need to measure it. The man placing the top on the pin got it right every time. By having the workers master a certain skill, decreased mistakes which lead to a decrease in wasted goods and an increase in the quality of product.

» The machine is expected to have a useful life of 10 years after which it could be sold for $50,000. » Technological obsolescence is a factor in this type of machine as manufacturers are always making

In the early stages of manufacturing quality and cost went hand-in-hand, if one went down so did the other but now quality is maintained at an excellent standard and cost is going down; engineers are racing to the bottom in price. This is achieved by the engineers that have created a system of work that is the assembly line, allowing for more affordability and profitable, and leading to innovation. By implementing the assembly line system of work, it requires simple tasks to be accomplished by multiple people at a constant pace, which results in cost efficient production. This system allows more product to be produced in a smaller period of time to meet the demand of the people, as the price is cheaper. However, profit is not changed

Although a major drawback of this method is the initial investment required to establish a production facility. This may result in capital is for a considerable time have a large amount of bound until it profitable factory. The assembly line is still the most important in the 20th century.Production technological progress with lines wiped out many of the disadvantages of the prior methods.There are three main factors that result from the assembly line a great success. First, there is no special training in the assembly line, which means that it jobs that almost anyone can make it necessary. Before the assembly line was invented, people who had worked in a group to wait for someone who can not deliver their part of the work on time. Once someone does not do

1) Repairs and maintenance costs increased after late 1990’s and three machines were expected to soon

Automobile industry of japan witnessed an awesome accomplishment with the growth of Toyota. It became the biggest maker in the worldwide business. Toyoda kiichiro was hesitant to invest in automobile sector. In the year 1933 the company started its production. In order to have cost efficiency they adopted the mass production technology.

Toyota’s product system is considered as benchmark for most of automobile companies .error free and flexible assembly lines shows how innovative

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A. (TMM) is deviating from the standard assembly line principle of jidoka in an attempt to avoid expenses incurred from stopping the production line for seat quality defects. This deviation has contributed to the inability to identify the root cause of the problem, which has led to decreased run ratios on the line and an excess of defective automobiles in the overflow lot for multiple days. If this problem isn’t fixed quickly, an increased amount of waste will continue to be incurred and customer value will be threatened.