Tag Archives: Toyota

Innovation at Toyota

Posted on February 24, 2006 by John Hunter

The Birth of the Prius by Alex Taylor III: By the end of 1993 the development team had determined that higher oil prices and a growing middle class around the world would require the new car to be both roomy and fuel-efficient. Other than that, they were given no guidance. “I was trying to come up with the future direction of the company,” says Watanabe, who headed corporate planning at the time. “I didn’t have a very specific idea about … Continue reading →

Posted in Innovation, Management, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Toyota Special Report: Thinking Production System

Posted on February 13, 2006 by John Hunter

Toyota Special Report: Thinking Production System [the broken link was removed]. A very interesting article on Toyota’s web site (www.toyota.co.jp). At the 2003 Automotive Parts System Solution Fair, held in Tokyo, June 18, 2003, Teruyuki Minoura, then-managing director of global purchasing, Toyota Motor Corporation, talked about his experiences with TPS (the Toyota Production System), and what it means for suppliers and for the future of the auto industry. This short article is peppered with many great quotes as section headers: … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Quality tools, Respect, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

TPS – Take 2

Posted on January 25, 2006 by John Hunter

The cover story in latest issue of Industry Week focuses on what people have missed when applying ideas from the Toyota Production System. Learning From Toyota — Again [the broken link was removed] by John Teresko: “Why is it that the TPS tools of lean, agile, TQM, TPM, re-engineering, just-in-time, cellular/continuous workflow and so on — never seem to really pay off big [aside from Toyota]?” asks Michael Paris, president of Hinsdale, Ill.-based Paris:Consulting. His response: “Unless TPS is everywhere … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Quality tools, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , ,

Toyota’s Early History

Posted on January 22, 2006 by John Hunter

via Got Boondogle: A book that I recently finished is “Quest for the Dawn” by Shoji Kimoto. “Quest for the Dawn” is a fascinating true story set from about 1930 to the mid 1950s of a bold business quest to build an automobile from the ground up. The relentless inventors were Sakichi and Kiichiro Toyoda and, of course, the car manufacturer was the Toyota Motor Company. Look interesting, so I went on amazon.com and Quest for the Dawn by Shoji … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Planet Kaizen

Posted on December 18, 2005 by John Hunter

Toyota has a section on their web site called Planet Kaizen [the broken link to www.toyota.com/planetkaizen was removed, this is a rare instance where they are doing us a favor by removing this poorly designed application from the internet]: “what happens when you dig a little deeper and peel back the sheet metal to discover what makes a Toyota a Toyota.” It requires Flash to view Planet Kaizen. I think it has amazingly bad visual controls (as do many flash … Continue reading →

Posted in IT, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ford’s Wrong Turn

Posted on December 5, 2005 by John Hunter

Mr. Ford’s Wrong Turn, Why U.S. Automakers Can’t Blame Japan by James P. Womack: What makes this claim so extraordinary is that Japanese companies, led by Toyota Motor Corp., are thrashing Ford by building vehicles in North American factories with North American-made parts and North American workers, who receive American-style wages and health benefits. And increasingly, these Japanese brand vehicles are engineered in America by Americans. Consider a few facts about Toyota. About 65 percent of the vehicles the firm … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Toyota Production System in Indiana

Posted on November 29, 2005 by John Hunter

Photo by Daniel R. Patmore Via Evolving Excellence [the broken link was removed], Indiana plant president passes on lessons [newspaper also broke link so I removed it too]: Q. Is it different teaching the Toyota Production System to American team members than it is to teach it to Japanese? A. It’s not so different. Americans are eager to learn. American team members are more serious about job security, so their motivation is higher than that of the Japanese. The Japanese … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , ,

Toyota Manufacturing Powerhouse

Posted on November 28, 2005 by John Hunter

Great required reading [the broken link was removed] via Evolving Excellence, Relentless [the broken link was removed], Detroit News: As Toyota expands rapidly, it is also grappling with a shortage of skilled managers and engineers. When it decided in June to build its seventh North American assembly plant in Woodstock, Ontario, officials said one reason they chose that site was because the new factory could be overseen by the team running its nearby Cambridge plant. Last month, the normally acquisition-shy … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Psychology, Respect, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Toyota Chairman Comments on India and Thailand

Posted on November 28, 2005 by John Hunter

Toyota Chief Comments on India, Thai Cos. [the broken link was removed] The chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that auto companies in India and Thailand may soon overtake those in Japan because of their increasing focus on quality. While this might be a bit of an exaggeration part of what keeps Toyota improving is that they do not rest on their past success. They are continually looking to improve. He said no Japanese firm has won the Deming … Continue reading →

Posted in India, Management Articles, Manufacturing | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Toyota Phenomenon

Posted on October 30, 2005 by John Hunter

The Toyota Phenomenon [the broken link was removed] by Ernst Glauser: Toyota’s success starts with its brilliant production engineering, which puts quality control in the hands of the line workers who have the power to stop the line or summon help the moment something goes wrong. Walk into a Toyota factory in Japan or America, Derby in Britain or Valenciennes in France and you will see the same visual displays telling you everything that is going on. You will also … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged ,

Toyota Engineers a New Plant: the Living Kind

Posted on October 15, 2005 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement Toyota Engineers…a Shrub Toyota Motor Corp has developed a derivative of the Cherry Sage shrub that is optimized for absorbing pollutants from the air. It seems Toyota is dominating the management improvement news in the same way Google is dominating the rest of the business news. It seems like Toyota is mentioned positively nearly as much as other companies combined on the management blogs that I read most often. And I am contributing to that. I doubt … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, quote, Science, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers

Posted on September 25, 2005 by John Hunter

How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers [the broken link was removed], Sarah Jane Johnston interview of Steven Spear. It is our conclusion that Toyota has developed a set of principles, Rules-in-Use we’ve called them, that allow organizations to engage in this (self-reflective) design, testing, and improvement so that (nearly) everyone can contribute at or near his or her potential, and when the parts come together the whole is much, much greater than the sum of the parts. The main … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Deming, Management, Process improvement, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Everybody Wants It, Toyota’s Got It

Posted on September 21, 2005 by John Hunter

Everybody Wants It, Toyota’s Got It [oops, pointy haired boss broke link, so I removed it] by Grant Robertson, Globe and Mail (Canada): Despite riding atop the North American auto sector for the past decade, the company’s manufacturing methods are an open book. People often look for the secret new idea instead of just executing well. So much improvement is available just using ideas that have been known for decades. But instead of doing that people keep searching for new … Continue reading →

Posted in Management Articles, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged | 2 Comments

LA Jail Saves Time Processing Crime

Posted on August 19, 2005 by John Hunter

After efficiency study, L.A. jail saves time processing crime by Dan Laidman Los Angels Daily News (pointy hired boss broke the link so I removed it) Last week, Chief William Bratton told the Board of Police Commissioners that Toyota methods have produced dramatic changes in a jail division once beset by delays, inefficient transportation, personnel shortages and troubles with medical treatment. … But the collaboration between Toyota and the LAPD marks the first time law enforcement has used the principles … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Process improvement, Public Sector, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , ,

New Toyota CEO’s Views

Posted on July 22, 2005 by John Hunter

The Man Driving Toyota from Business Week: Toyota has grown in the past few years, but [there’s a risk] that a belief that the current status is satisfactory creeps into the minds of employees. That’s what I’m worried about. We should never be satisfied with the current status. In each division, function, or region, we still have numerous problems to cope with. We need to identify each one of those tasks or problems and fully recognize them and pursue the … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Process improvement, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Toyota as Homebuilder

Posted on July 8, 2005 by John Hunter

Topic: Management Improvement Toyota Home – Applying the Toyota Production System to Home Building (broken link removed) from Evolving Excellence Toyota is all about cars and trucks, right? Not quite. I was just pointed to the Toyota Home [the broken link was removed] page on Toyota’s website, which briefly describes Toyota’s activities in the home building industry. From Toyota’s web site: Toyota Home – building 21st century comfort and luxury into houses in Japan. Come inside and see for yourself. … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer focus, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments