TOYOTA LEAN MANUFACTURING MANUAL

Going forward, we will maintain our steadfast dedication to constantly developing human resources who can think independently and implement kaizen. Human wisdom and ingenuity are indispensable to delivering ever-better cars to customers. Advancing jidoka in this way helps to reinforce both our manufacturing competitiveness and human resource development. This cycle of improvement in both human skills and technologies is the essence of Toyota's jidoka.

TOYOTA LEAN MANUFACTURING MANUAL

In other words, craftsmanship is achieved by learning the basic principles of manufacturing through manual work, then applying them on the factory floor to steadily make improvements. Rather, they evolve as we transfer our skills and craftsmanship to them. Machines and robots do not think for themselves or evolve on their own. The work done by hand in this process is the bedrock of engineering skill. Through the repetition of this process, machinery becomes simpler and less expensive, while maintenance becomes less time consuming and less costly, enabling the creation of simple, slim, flexible lines that are adaptable to fluctuations in production volume. Only then is the jidoka mechanism incorporated into actual production lines.

First, human engineers meticulously build each new line component by hand to exacting standards, then, through incremental kaizen (continuous improvement), steadily simplify its operations.Įventually, the value added by the line's human operators disappears, meaning any operator can use the line to produce the same result. Achieving jidoka, therefore, requires building and improving systems by hand until they are reliable and safe. We will use these initiatives and develop our human resources to make ever-better cars that will be cherished by customers.įor Toyota, jidoka means that a machine must come to a safe stop whenever an abnormality occurs. Thoroughly honing these strengths is essential for Toyota's future survival. TPS and its approach to cost reduction are the wellsprings of competitive strength and unique advantages for Toyota. The Toyota Production System (TPS) was established based on two concepts: 'jidoka' (which can be loosely translated as 'automation with a human touch'), as when a problem occurs, the equipment stops immediately, preventing defective products from being produced and the 'Just-in-Time' concept, in which each process produces only what is needed for the next process in a continuous flow.īased on the basic philosophies of jidoka and Just-in-Time, TPS can efficiently and quickly produce vehicles of sound quality, one at a time, that fully satisfy customer requirements.

This production control system was established based on many years of continuous improvements, with the objective of making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as swiftly as possible. Toyota Motor Corporation's vehicle production system is a way of making things that is sometimes referred to as a 'lean manufacturing system,' or a 'Just-in-Time (JIT) system,' and has come to be well known and studied worldwide. A production system based on the philosophy of achieving the complete elimination of all waste in pursuit of the most efficient methods.

Toyota lean manufacturing