1st Edition

Toyota by Toyota Reflections from the Inside Leaders on the Techniques That Revolutionized the Industry

By Samuel Obara, Darril Wilburn Copyright 2012
    240 Pages 61 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    Written by former Toyota associates, Toyota By Toyota: Reflections from the Inside Leaders on the Techniques That Revolutionized the Industry focuses on the purpose of Lean methodologies, techniques, and principles. It compiles more than a century of combined experience from management-level employees who supply little-known insights about the Toyota Production System (TPS)—featuring many who worked directly with Taiichi Ohno.

    The book illustrates experiences at Toyota locations around the world, including the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Europe, and Japan. Associates from various divisions, including sales, training, logistics, manufacturing, and human resources, provide diverse points of view regarding the application of the Lean principles discussed. In each chapter, TPS experts:

    • Share their story about when and how they learned the specific Lean technique, methodology, or concept
    • Describe the Lean technique, along with its benefits and pitfalls
    • Supply helpful implementation tips

    A common thread that weaves these stories together is that each contributor had to learn their lessons the hard way. Although there is no magical, painless way to learn Lean, the authors hope that by sharing their experiences and struggles, you can avoid having to struggle through the same lessons. Readers will benefit from seeing the various approaches used to teach, as well as the unique way these authors translate that learning to the reader.

    Courage, Humility, Kaizen; Darril Wilburn
    The Toyota Way 2001
    Courage, Humility, Kaizen at the Heart
    Teaching Others

    Stability and Standardized Work; Gerson Valentim Damiani
    Importance of Standard Work
    Why Work Using Standards?
    Operational Procedures, Work Instructions, and Work and Labor Procedures
    How the Work Was Done at Toyota: Standard Work before Technology
    How Standard Work Was Done at Toyota after the Introduction of Technology
         Factory Layout
         Objectives of the Layout
         Human Factor
    Problems in the Implementation of Standard Work
    Where to Place Standard Work Instructions

    Jidoka; Renato Eiji Kitazuka with Carlos Moretti
    Origins
    Jidoka as a Pillar of the Toyota Production System
    So, What Is the Purpose of Using Jidoka?
         Using Jidoka
         Implementation Stages of Jidoka
         It Was Too Early
    Conclusion

    Just-In-Time and Kanban; Carlos Fukamizu
    Just-In-Time
         Introduction
    Introduction of Jidoka and Just-In-Time as the Pillars of TPS
         Jidoka
         Just-In-Time Manufacturing
    Just-In-Time (JIT)
         Concept
         Total Customer Satisfaction
         More Evident Waste in the Manufacturing
         Continuous Flow Process (One-Piece Flow) and Pull System
         Lean Methodologies for Waste Elimination
         Examples
         Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)
    Kanban as a Technique of JIT
    Conclusion

    Problem-Solving PDCA; Sammy Obara
    Definition
    Why Problem Solving Is So Important Along a Lean
    Transformation
    What Is PDCA?
    Do You Really Need a Method?
    How and Where to Find Problems
    The Mosquitoes Case
    How Well Do You Understand the Problem?
    Genchi Genbutsu: The Point of Cause
    How Well Can You State the Problem?
    How Well Do You Understand the Causes?
         Doing Well What Does Not Need to Be Done
    Project Management
    Quick Note on Deadlines
    Standardization
    Recognition
    A Higher Level of Recognition
    Yokoten: Spreading the Learning Laterally
    What Is Next?

    Toyota Kaizen Methods; Art Smalley
    Step 1: Discover Improvement Potential
    Step 2: Analyze the Current Method
    Step 3: Generate Original Ideas
    Step 4: Make a Kaizen Plan
    Step 5: Implement the Plan
    Step 6: Verify the Results
    Summary

    Kaizen Culture: The Continuous Improvement Engine; Stephen J. Ansuini
    The Key Elements of a Kaizen Culture
         Visible Sponsorship and Support by Management
              Leadership Support
         Clear Purpose and Aligned Goals
         Evolving Continuous Improvement System
              Phase 1: Introduction – Participation Emphasis
              Phase 2: Transition – Participant Development
              Phase 3: Process Maturation
    Summary

    Elimination of Waste in Product Design; Patrick Muller
    Value Engineering/Value Analysis
         Waste in Process Design
         Waste in Product Design
         Toyota’s Purchasing Philosophy
              Fair Competition Based on an Open-Door Policy
         Mutual Prosperity Based on Mutual Trust
         Abide by the Law
    Toyota’s Purchasing Practices
         Cost Breakdown
         Target Costing, VE/VA, Kaizen
    Value Engineering/Value Analysis
         History
         At Toyota, Suppliers Challenges
         VE/VA and FMEA
         VE/VA and Marketing
         Practical Example

    Adapting Lean for Made-to-Order/High-Mix, Low-Volume Organizations; Greg Lane
    OSKKK to Learn and Transform
    Learning the Processes before Managing Them
    Constraints Require More than Quick Fixes
    Process Focused, Not Product Focused
    Segregating Parts to Manage Differently
    Managing in Real-Time Necessitates Other Lean Principles
    Proportionally More Indirect Costs Necessitates
    Lean Accounting
    Failures
    Summary

    Lean Logistics; Robert Martichenko
    Part 1: Purpose + People
         Introduction
         Purpose
         Customer and 3PL Collaboration
         People and Planning
    Part 2: Process
         Logistics Route Design
         Pull Replenishment
         Velocity and Understanding the Importance of Lead-Time Reduction
         Driving Velocity
         Manufacturing Plant Integration
         Leveled Flow
         Trailer Yard Layout and Visual Management
         Quality at the Source and Discipline of Process
    Lessons Learned and Conclusion

    Leading a Kaizen Culture; Bob Plummer
    A TPS Symphony
    Discovering the Kaizen Culture
    Creating and Sustaining the Kaizen Culture in American Factories
    Implementing TPS Methods
    Back to the Beginning
    Leaving GM

    Hoshin Kanri; Alistair Norval with Darril Wilburn
    What Is Hoshin Kanri?
    Why We Need a Strategic Planning System
    What Does This Result In?
    Countermeasure to Strategic Planning Problems
    Hoshin Kanri Enables Organizations to Develop Strategic Plans That Are True North
    Tree of Focused Activity
    Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA)
    Management Process
    Catchball
    Key Thinker
    A3
    The Power of Hoshin

    Summary

    Index

    Biography

    Samuel Obara learned and implemented the Toyota Production System (TPS) while working at Toyota facilities for 13 years in Japan, Brazil, USA, and Venezuela. With close to 30 years of TPS experience by 2011, he had helped over 350 companies in diverse environments ranging from education and government agencies, to manufacturing companies and banks in a variety of countries, including China, The Philippines, Canada, Indonesia, Brazil, Japan, Austria, Africa, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. He is a faculty member with the Lean Enterprise Institute in the USA and Mexico. He is also a faculty member with San Diego State University’s Lean Enterprise curriculum. He has been a guest lecturer on Lean for post-graduate classes at Stanford University, MBA classes at University of Southern California, University of California, San Diego, and Lean Institute’s summits in Poland, Netherlands, Brazil, USA and Mexico.  

    Darril Wilburn led the development and implementation of some of Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America's most important leadership development programs. He led the Toyota Way 2001 (Toyota core values and principles) implementation at Toyota's largest manufacturing plant in North America, and also worked with The Toyota Institute in Japan to develop the Toyota Business Practice (TBP), leading the global pilot of this program, as well as the North American Senior Executive sessions. While at Toyota, Darril studied the Toyota Production System as a student of OMDD, Toyota's internal Sensei group. He was also part of the team that launched Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas, where he led the assimilation and training of new to Toyota management. As a Senior Associate at Honsha, Darril has had the opportunity to work with the public and private sector on projects that reflect the current global economic condition. Working with one of the largest mortgage banks in the USA, he and his Honsha team have implemented a redesign of the workflow to increase productivity and reduce cost and lead times, and is currently working with the State of Washington to develop a Lean culture that will help transform the way state government does business.

    Contributing Authors:

    Gerson Valentim Damiani
    Renato Eiji Kitazuka
    Carlos Yukio Fukamizu
    Art Smalley
    Stephen J. Ansuini
    Patrick Muller
    Greg Lane
    Robert Martichenko
    Bob Plummer
    Alistair Norval

    What is our Purpose? Addressed honestly, this hard question triggers the necessary reflection on shortcomings and weaknesses that are the fuel for improvement. It is a recurring theme in this volume. … Hansei, the Japanese word meaning humble and frank reflection, is another important concept in this book. Reflection, often glossed over, is fundamental to TPS and the PDCA cycle. This book records the reflections of several Toyota veterans—reflections on how they learned TPS and how they’ve applied the learning in companies around the world.
    —Pascal Dennis, Shingo Prize-Winning Author and President of Lean Pathways Inc.