Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production

Taiichi Ohno is the father of the Toyota Productions System. Part of the Toyota Way is to go to the source (the "genba"). This is that book. It's necessary reading for anyone in the manufacturing world that wants to understand lean production or the heart of what makes Toyota successful.

What is said about JIT is very logical. Many so called Lean companies and consultants trip over Kanban but shouldn’t. Remember, Time is to Manufacturing functionality as to what Gravity is to the functions of the universe. In JIT, the concept of, you only get what you need when you need is relative to time.Example- If an outside supplier of a machining process, sequenced part says he needs three days lead time to setup, machine, degrease, deburr, delivery, then the Kan ban size inventory is three days worth of material; the Time it takes to resupply. As you consume at your takt-time rate, your supplier makes replenishment at his rate of three days. You should synchronize your material storage to match his Process times to supply you with. I have worked at two Japanese world product foot print manufacturers that are Deep Dive Toyota Process System companies that are very Lean mature and supposedly three Lean American companies. The American company’s interpretation of JIT is to literally only order items when needed (that day). Comparing the cultural JIT application differences was disappointing to witness how poorly the American companies applied the TPS approach. At the American companies We had to continually stop the line for no parts or material because we ignorantly didn’t factor in the lead times to resupply us. Their argument was, “It’s supposed be ordered by ‘Just In Time’ processes. We’re supposed to maintain only what’s needed and only order at the time when needed.” This non-sense behavior applied the literal meaning of the words ‘Just In Time’ while ignoring context, logic, principals, and common sense of what was being taught. That’s why Taiichi Ohno said the misapplication of JIT could cause serious damage to your product flow and the entire operations. Line Stoppage with waste everywhere.

Because I am studying Lean, I thought this book to be a must read and I am happy I was correct. It provides a very thoughtful insight in philosophy of the Toyota Way and therefore in Lean thinking as well. For me, it is really worth reading, even though I haven't finished the book yet.

An excellent overview of the main concepts of lean manufacturing: finding waste, JIT, kanban, production leveling, flow, automation with a human touch, reduced set-up times, the "5 why", etc. Explanations are to the point and easy to understand.What makes this book unique is that the author was THE pioneer who brought most of these concepts to life. In the last chapters of the book he does a good job at putting his approach in perspective with earlier developments at Toyota, Ford, and GM.

I took a lot of good advice, on how businesses should conduct themselves on slow growth periods and why waste is the number 1 killer of well running businesses.TPS can be applied in different forms and different industries. The objective is waste elimination.

After 30 years of manufacturing experience and thinking that I was very knowledgeable of Lean Manufacturing systems, it came to my surprise that one book written almost 30 years ago would teach me all the things I take now for granted without knowing that all this knowledge came from the mind of one man and his fellows at Toyota. My hat is down for Mr. Taiichi Onno. I now have a better understanding of his teachings and I believe that the Toyota Production System will be the do facto standard for manufacturing in the years to follow. I wonder if it is ready for and ISO standard...

still very relevant today- fundamental to understand quality and agility

I must admit disappointment with this text. I sought a deeper understanding of Taiichi's thought processes, and while the text delivers on this some, it was far too little for me. I did like Workplace Management better.Pro:+ Reinforces many of the basics and things I already believed about TPS, which can be a good thing to do once in a while+ Does a good job describing the purpose of kanban but stops short of describing how badly it can harm the business when poorly implemented+ Creates a greater appreciation for how long it took to develop concepts (this was very interesting to me)+ Some notable quotes to use and share later+ A good book to read to confirm that the "intro to lean" course you took was (or wasn't) directionally correct+ Some interesting history about the development of TPS, and that each element was "created in response to a need"+ Also some interesting commentary on the Ford (Mass Production) System, which I had heard before, but coming from Taiichi's pen made it more meaningfulCon:- Somewhat short on content (117 small pages)- Misspelled "takt" as"tact" repeatedly and perhaps defines it incorrectly too (how could this happen!?)Bottom line: A good read for the beginner, the zealot who wishes a refresher or to practice a philosophical TPS "go and see." Not for everybody.

Gives a great insight of the manufacturing philosophies transformation chronologically. Good references about ford production system also have been referred

Molto chiaro e spiegato in modo semplice con esempi di situazioni reali.Consiglio questo libro a qualsiasi persona perché il concetto può essere messo in pratica in qualsiasi ambito.

The book was interesting, my husband liked it and hearing the details of production and the making of this company. I was told it was interesting if you like this kind of book.

Taiichi Ohno ist der Schöpfer des Toyota Production Systems (TPS). Das Buch 'Toyota Production System: Beyond Large Scale Production' ist auf der einen Seite sicherlich ein Standardwerk zum TPS, aber auf der anderen Seite auch wieder nicht. Das Buch vermittelt weniger erschöpfend die methodischen Werkzeuge des TPS. Es wird zwar in die Grundlagen des TPS eingeführt (Kanban, Just-in-Time, Waste, etc.), aber einen Grossteil des Buches räumt Taiichi Ohno den Gedanken ein, die zum TPS geführt haben.Interessant ist zu lesen, dass das TPS als Alternative zur kostengünstigen Massenherstellung von amerikanischen Autos (Ford, General Motors) von konzipiert wurde, weil Taiichi Ohno davon ausgegangen ist, dass Autos von Toyota die Stückzahlen von Ford und General Motors nicht erreichen kann (Beyond Large Scale Production), aber Toyota um die gleichen Käufer und Märkte kämpfen wird und dies nur erfolgreich tun kann, wenn Toyota im Bereich Produktvielfalt, Kosten und Qualität ebenbürtig ist.Zwei weitere Aspekte finde ich erwähnenswert: Taiichi Ohno, hat mit der Entwicklung des TPS nicht für die Autoproduktion begonnen, sondern es hat seinen Ursprung in der Maschinenherstellung für die Textilindustrie (Webstühle; der Ursprung von Toyota). Weiter ist offensichtlich, dass Taiichi Ohne ein grosse Bewunderung für Henry Ford hatte und er das TPS als Weiterentwicklung des Ford Production Systems (Massenherstellung) für Toyota sieht.Das Buch ist ein Muss für Jeden, der an den Gedanken und Ideen hinter dem TPS interessiert ist.

A lire absolument : 120 pages d'une grande simplicité- Ce livre est le livre de référence écrit par l'un des pères fondateurs du lean- Par sa simplicité, il montre bien la difficulté de la mise en place du lean que l'on voudrait trop rapidement classer comme une nième technique ou méthode- Par ailleurs, on retrouvera en fond l'histoire de la compagnie TOYOTALe meilleur que j'ai lu sur le lean