Toyota Production System

Beyond Large-scale production

by Taiichi Ohno

Number of pages: 152

Publisher: Productivity Press

BBB Library: Business Classics, Corporate Success

ISBN: 978-0915299140



About the Author

TaiichiOhno was a Japanese industrial engineer and businessman. He is considered to be the father of the Toyota Production System, which became Lean Manufacturing in the U.S. He devised the seven wastes (or muda in Japanese) as part of this system.

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Editorial Review

The oil crisis in the fall of 1973 resulted in a recession of government and business, as well as society. By 1974, Japan’s economy had reached a state of zero growth and many companies were suffering and even bankrupted. But at the Toyota Motor Company, despite the declined profits, earnings were maintained in 1975, 1976, and 1977 more than other companies. This widening gap between Toyota and other companies rose an important question: what is unique at Toyota? They realized that the conventional American mass production system that had worked for so long simply did not work anymore. Thus, their principle objective became to produce many models in small quantities.

Book Reviews

“There are hundreds of books and articles written about TPS/Lean Manufacturing but none provide the foundations that this book by TaiichiOhno does. There were cultural developments about performance improvement occurring within Toyota from the 1930s in Japan, however TaiichiOhno is credited with the true hands-on work at the “coal face”, on the factory floor, to develop the foundations of TPS and drive the benefits in a most uncompromising way. The fundamental message was simple; “look for and eliminate waste.”—Shinka Management

Books on Related Topics

Wisdom to Share

Toyota Motor Company realized that the conventional American mass production system that had worked for so long simply did not work anymore. Thus, their principle objective became to produce many models in small quantities.

During periods of high growth, the usual business cycle becomes 2 or 3 years of good days with only 6 months of recession or less. But at times of prosperity, the good days become more than 3 years. In slow rate eras, mass production must be declined as soon as possible.

Just in Time (JIT) means the right raw materials and parts needed in assembly reach the assembly line at the time they are needed and only in the amount needed, and this will lead to a state of zero inventories.

Automation changes the meaning of management. An operator is not needed except when the machine stops. As a result, one worker can operate several machines at the same time. This results in reducing the number of operators and increasing production efficiency.

The purpose of repeating why for 5 times is to find the root cause of any problem which is often hidden behind the symptoms and then to correct it in order to prevent the reoccurrence of the same problem another time.

Receiving information as quickly as possible and at the right time leads to delivery of raw materials at the required time with less waste.

To cope with internal changes of organizational culture and workflow, the production system must be able to respond to schedule changes. Not only to cope with dramatic scheduling changes, but also with any slight increase or decrease in supplies and demands.

The most important aspect is not the system itself but the creativity of human beings who select and interpret the information. The Toyota production system is still being perfected. Improvements are made daily thanks to the vast number of suggestions received from its employees. There is always much to do in the production field.

Books by the same Author

Many people today are seeking to build their own winning gemba (workplace) management system, just like the one built by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota. The study and application of Kaizen (continuous improvement) and Toyota Production System has become increasingly a part of how hospitals, governments, universities, banks, mining operations, and retailers
Taiichi Ohno's Workplace Management

Many people today are seeking to build their own winning gemba (workplace) management system, just like the one built by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota. The study and application of Kaizen (continuous improvement) and Toyota Production System has become increasingly a part of how hospitals, governments, universities, banks, mining operations, and retailers