A Synopsis Of The Toyota Way By Jeffery Liker

Autoliv is a world class example of lean manufacturing. This Fortune 500 Company makes automotive safety components such as seat belt, airbags, and steering wheels, and has over 80 plants in more than 32 countries. Revenue in 2007 topped $6.7 billion. Autoliv’s lean manufacturing environment is called the Autoliv Production System (APS), and is based on the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, and embodied in its Toyota Production System (TPS). At the heart of Autoliv is a system that focuses on continuous improvement. Based on the “House of Toyota”, Autoliv Ogden, Utah, air bag plants put the concepts embodied in the house to work every day. The only difference between the Toyota house and the one at Autoliv is that the company has

In the 1950s Toyota came up with the idea of lean thinking which is a set of functioning ideas and techniques that helps generate the greatest importance for individuals by decreasing waste and delays” (Feeney, 2015). The purpose of this systematic approach was to change the establishments thought process and value, which would eventually lead to the conversion of the

For this discussion board assignment I have chosen to further research the key term of continuous improvement. My main reason for wanting to do further research into this topic is out of a general curiosity and interest of mine as well as how it is relevant to my current job. Ever since learning about the Toyota Production System (TPS) and lean manufacturing a year ago while taking another class at Liberty University, I have been continuing to learn as much as I can about it. I think that lean manufacturing is so interesting and has a lot of value for manufacturing as well as many other fields and even in my daily life. Continuous improvement is a big part of lean manufacturing, so that is why I chose to write about this topic.

According to Toyota Way 2001 (n.d.), “The Toyota Way is supported by two main pillars: ‘Continuous Improvement’ and ‘Respect for People.’” The unit is continually making improvements to our process by “putting forward new ideas and working to the best of our abilities” (Toyota Way 2001, n.d.). Also by respecting the organization and our leadership’s decisions each individual’s effort affects the unit’s success.

Yet, the public perceptions may be at odds with the objective measures. In Toyota’s case, there have been indications that the quality level of the company’s products had fallen off in a span of few years. There are changes that have taken place during a period when most of the company’s close competitors, such as Fords, were producing more cost-effective and efficient automobiles. In addition, the company’s unique production approach and the emphasis on continuous improvement and learning coupled with a matrix structure are key reasons for the company’s leadership in the cat manufacturing industry. Toyota’s Production Systems (TPS) was founded in the principles of “Just-in-time. This approach has less opportunity for slack resources and focuses of the benefits of efficiency on the part of employees and reduction on waste resources (Griffin and Gregory, 5). Further, Toyota Company enacts its production system with the assistance of its human resources strategies, culture, and organizational structure. Toyota’s Production System emphasizes on learning and modesty when it comes to assessing past success and differentiated them from

Lean manufacturing originated long before Toyota and Ford, however the thought that it originated with Toyota is flattering since they are the ones who perfected it. By creating the Toyota Production System (TPS), Toyota found a better way to produce large quantities of product efficiently with eliminating the waste factor and while cutting down cost. Taiichi Ohno a former Toyota vice president promoted the idea of JIT (Just-in-Time) which means “producing the necessary units in the necessary quantities at the necessary time.” (Monden) Which leads to Toyota’s ultimate goal in the TPS is to improve productivity for better return in investment. To have continuous flow in a production system Toyota sought out to achieve the concept of JIT and autonomation . Since the TPS is what creates the parts who monitors the JIT system? The kanban system which is an informational system that controls quantities being produce in each process. As the discussion carries on throughout this paper about Toyota and their use of the kanban system the topic

Although the principles of lean can be dated back to the early 1900’s with Henry Ford’s development of the assembly line production, it was Kiichiro Toyoda, researching Ford’s innovation, adapted the process and further streamlining it in Toyota’s automobile manufacturing company that came up with what is now known today as the Toyota Production System. A disciplined, process-focused

“Toyota’s information and decision making has been highly centralized. The result: Top management in Japan has been less sensitive to the expectations of regulators, culture and politics in overseas markets, and consequently, they have been slower to respond to local problems. The reality is that Toyota’s problems were not caused by a faulty production system but by poor management decisions” (Cole, 2011, pg. 34). In the past, Toyota was a company that trained employees to embrace the Toyota Way and pushed their employees to strive for continuous improvement and perfection. The upper management at Toyota has strayed away from their core; founding principles that empowered their employees and contributed to making them a successful automobile manufacturing juggernaut. A major source for of their ongoing improvement and innovation has been from employees.

“The Machine that Changed the World” guides the reader through the fascinating story about lean production and Manufacturing system that results in a better and more cost efficient product, higher productivity and greater customer loyalty. It tells about how critical the use of efficient team work, good communication and efficient use of resources are to produce remarkable results with cars 1/3 less defects and half the

Besides the two guiding ideologies noted herein, the TPS has twelve other principles by which it bolsters its foundation. These principles include “Andon, Genchi Genbutsu, Heijunka, Hoshin, Jishuken, Kanban, Kaizen, Muda, Nemawashi, Pokayoke, Standardized Work and Yokoten” (Toyota Motor Manufacturing, 2015). Like the guiding ideologies, these principles focus on operational efficiency and quality, but additionally, these principles also address operational effectiveness and operational sustainability.

The Toyota Production System is built around two key elements that maximize efficiency. The first, is that only items that will be sold are produced. The second is the use of a ‘Just-in-time’ system that ensures smooth, uninterrupted processing. Toyota Production System regards work-in-progress stockpiles as a waste of time and space that often times cover up inefficiencies in the production process. Problems with the just-in-time system become more apparent when work-in-progress stocks are reduced, allowing for problems to be more easily identified and solved. To solve these problems, Toyota embraces the philosophy of Kaizen, which means, ‘continuous improvement’, where employees on the production line are encouraged to be the ones to come up with solutions.

Companies, thinking on lean techniques, believe that utilization of some lean principles will generates great results in short time (Jones & Mitchell, 2006). But implementation of lean techniques not only requires capital investments but also integration with company strategy and core business operations. As the Toyota Case indicated, the long term vision (despite of short term results) and the detail plan analysis since the beginning is a challenging process on western mentality focus on immediate results (short term position).

Ever since the company was founded in 1937, The TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION and their subsidiaries (“TOYOTA”), have continuously strived to contribute to the sustainable development of society and the earth through the manufacturing and provision of high-quality and innovative products and services. Through these continuous efforts, they have established a corporate philosophy that has been passed down from generation to generation throughout the company and which has come to be known as the “Guiding Principles at Toyota” (originally issued in 1992, revised in 1997; the “Guiding Principles”. they have also put TOYOTA’s values and methods in written form,

In the twentieth century two major manufacturing revolutions have been introduced. Both revolutions have been developed at the automobile sector. The first revolution was mass production. In the 1900s the demand for cars has raised dramatically, and the automobile sector has become very competitive. Craft production has dominated the automobile sector; in fact using of the craft production was inadequate to manage the high demand at that period. In that

The culture of the Toyota Motor Corporation is one that has been imitated and duplicated by many other organizations. When Kilchiro Toyoda invented the company he understood that the success of the organization would ultimately be produced by the employees that provide the service. This is the reason why Toyota’s manufacturing operations are considered extremely lean. When the automobiles enter the market, they are introduced on time and on a budget that is passed on to the customers. The culture atmosphere within the organization of Toyota exudes a strong team spirit. The team spirit atmosphere allows employees from every rank to introduce changes or suggestions. The diversified approach also introduces new ideas that catapults the organization as the frontier in the automotive industry. The organization also is known to recruit and hire the smartest and brightest employees. The