The Success Of The Toyota Production System

Production practices have had an important role in satisfying the dynamic market. Many approaches have being developed in order to respond effectively to specific business requirements. In fact, some areas of management have focused its study on the overseeing, designing, and controlling the process of production in an effort to find the best methodology that ensures the business success and performance. However, complexities arise in this field because many variables such as costs, inventory, scheduling, suppliers, etc have to be considered in any business. Lean approach and the traditional approach are two points of view that aim to address this complexities, and those will be examined in this essay.

Mass production and series production is defined as the large quantity manufacturing of goods, using assembly line techniques and standardised designs.

An alternative to the fabrication process carried out by milling machines is something the author refers to as “additive fabrication” which he states is similar to the formation of Lego blocks (i.e., starting with nothing and adding materials to create an object). Gershenfeld states that the industrial automation company Festo utilizes additive fabrication in the composition of the products their machines create. However, Gershenfeld explains that milling machines and Festo are designed to be used by trained professionals and industrial engineers rather than the general public, conflicting with the idea of physical fabrication becoming accessible on a personal level. Gershenfeld states that individuals are limited to choosing from a menu of commodities preselected by other people. According to Gershenfeld, other possible means of personal fabrication are Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). MEMS fabrication consists of “cutting out tiny silicon machines with the fabrication processes that are currently used to make integrated circuits” (Gershenfeld

Manufacturing Companies:  A manufacturing firm transforms basic resources into finished goods.  These companies add value by taking simple inputs, such as labor and materials, and combining them to create a complex product like an automobile.  Success is measured by the ability of the manufacturer to sell the complex product for more than the cost of the inputs.  Examples are Boeing, Caterpillar, and Ford.

Chase et al. (2006) state that “lean production is an integrated set of activities designed to achieve high-volume production using minimal inventories of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods” (p. 471). The essential components of lean production are surplus elimination, constant work-flow, and consumer appeal. The minute these components are in the neighborhood of supply, quality and cost, this outlines the groundwork for a lean production organization. A Japanese plan of continuous progress named the Kaizen is responsible for the lean production idea. Riordan can adjust the lean production concept by employee empowerment and advancement, staying focused on making processes stronger, impact of consumer relations, rapid merchandise growth and production, and cooperation with suppliers are the imperative strategies of Riordan managing lean. Features of a lean enterprise include a combined single piece continuous workflow and near incorporation of the entire value series from raw material to finished product. In addition, demand drives production rather than predictions. This means that manufacture designing is by consumer demand or appeal and not to become system loading or strict work flows on the company floor. This will help Riordan keep minimal inventories at each step of the production process. It is also important to know that having a working participation by employees involved in

Lean manufacturing plays a major role in our economy and yet it is almost unheard of outside manufacturing. It is important to know lean manufacturing relates to our individual lives and how we can all benefit from this concept. With current slow economic recovery, it is imperative that we find avenues that consumers can get through these difficult times, but also to implement the lessons-learned values into future thinking. The rising cost of goods and the unemployment rate high, lean manufacturing is helping to keep cost low and jobs in America where they belong.

Manufacturing today includes all facets of research, development, production, sales, distribution, logistics, customer service, marketing, and support. It extends from the making of physical products to the delivery of services (Deloitte, 2013). Manufacturing companies now compete on a global scale and utilize specific locations around the world to their advantage. For instance, basic, simple to make products will be produced in an area with cheap, low education labor. While products that use high tech machinery that require a skilled labor force would need to be produced

Lean is defines the manufacturing philosophy that reduces the time between the shipping and customer demand, which based on the systematic method by eliminating waste, that means giving the customer what they want when they want it, and don 't waste whatever. Rahmana, Sharif and Esa (2013) suggested lean production is mentioned to improve the company 's performance from the philosophy in reducing waste in order. That means, lean system destination is the decrease cost by removing the non-value activities, which they are applying a category of tools and techniques for checking and eliminating defective in the production process. In the Evenort Company should emulate the five overriding principles of lean thinking in terms of implementing lean that there is guarantee the company has been driving correctly in the lean manufacturing (Cardiff 2015) as can show in table 1.

Nowadays, Lean management is one of the most well-known operation management in the world. According to Lean enterprise Institution, it said that the philosophy initially integrated by henry ford, however, at that time the system is still not perfectly done. The problem with ford is that he could not provide the variety. Then after the world war, Kiichora Toyota has look to fix that that problem by using some series of simple innovation to helping the issues and invented the Toyota production system which is the initial concept of lean which is the operation system that help Toyota to become the largest automaker of the world. Then, James P. Womack who was also known as father of lean production and as management expert, founder and senior

The demand for products “pulls” products through the manufacturing process. The goal is to produce a product only when it is needed and to only produce the quantity that is needed. The last principle of lean manufacturing is pursue perfection. This principle keeps the goal of producing highest quality products for the lowest cost in the least amount of time. Waste is eliminated when detected and defects are prevented. Through experience implementing lean manufacturing, the pursuit of perfection becomes achievable.

The Industry of Industries in Transition. they look through the history of the automobile manufacturing by spelling out Henry Ford and Alfred Sloan, who left behind the old-fashioned type of production, craft production, and began a new age of the world manufacture with mass production. Also, they mention about Eiji Toyoda and Taiichi Ohno, who initially started the conception, “lean production”, which, nowadays, has been seeking by manufacturers of all kinds of industries on over the world. In addition, the writers provide a quick view in the comparison among craft production, mass production, and lean production in which they point out the drawbacks of craft production, the obstacles of mass production, and the advantages of lean production. The authors emphasize that no lean manufacturer has ever reached the ideal target of lean production, but they will continuously attempt to gain the perfections of lean production. This section, additionally, represents the impact of lean production on the professional careers and the working conditions of

Lean Manufacturing Systems were first introduced in Japan by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lean movement is a type of a system that relies on simple visual cues in order to manage production stages that are based on customer demand. The system is a is also a kind of manufacturing that put great emphasis on the minimization of resources, time included, that is utilized in various activities of manufacturing and provides techniques for uninterrupted quality improvement. Although this system has gained enormous momentum and respect over the last decades, some companies have found it difficult to use Lean Manufacturing Systems, and, as a result, the companies have ended up failing. The concept of Lean Systems is best understood when companies familiarize themselves with certain key insights that are utilized during the course of systems architecting. The article provides a synopsis of the lean and is divided into four parts that will be mainly used for the purpose of this review.

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

Lean manufacturing is not just a production method. It is a way of life. One could say that it is simply a way of providing customers what they want, at a price they can afford, when they want it (Leaning Forward). However, it is much more than just satisfying the customer’s needs.

Modern communication and flexible manufacturing methods (e.g. Computer Numerical Control (CNC), 3-D printing, Additive Manufacturing) are all innovations that allow designs from a centralised source to be manufactured in smaller quantities close to where they will be sold. These techniques can also afford a firm commercial advantage the through the ‘personalised production’ of products (Mourtzis & Doukas 2012) should they wish to adopt this as part of their business model.