#TOYOTA JUST IN TIME HOW TO#

One manifestation of this is kanban - a practice that requires every single process to carry with it information about pickup, transfer, and production. They wanted judgment to happen “autonomously at the lowest possible level”.

#TOYOTA JUST IN TIME HOW TO#

Toyota, in its early years, “began to think about how to install an autonomic nervous system”. Just imagine what might happen to the human body if basic functions like respiration and digestion required as much cognition as mental arithmetic or driving a car demands. They contain autonomic nerves that function without conscious command from the brain. To Ohno, organizations resemble the human body. Defect-free manufacturing demands consistent quality. Toyota machines, for instance, will not start unless the inputs provided are exactly to specification. The goal is to install as many defect detection and prevention devices as you can without overburdening its users. In Japan, they call this baka-yoke - “idiot-proofing”. So, by eliminating problems collectively, repeatedly, and consistently, you minimize large defects over the long run. While abrupt and costly in the short run, it “forces awareness on everyone”. When a sensor or person detects an abnormality, the entire machine is stopped. One example of this at Toyota is the use of “an automatic stopping device”. Autonomation seeks to minimize the build-up of errors in manufacturing. Ohno recognizes that modern machines are so fine tuned that even minor perturbations can render everything after it defective. The second pillar of the Toyota Production System is autonomation or “automation with a human touch”. Autonomation, stopping devices, and baka-yoke Toyota Production System: Beyond Large Scale Production. … With the possibility of acquiring products at the time and in the quantity needed, waste, unevenness, and unreasonableness can be eliminated and efficiency improved… The thing to remember is that it is not only “in time” but “just in time”. “Just-in-time means that, in a flow process, the right parts needed in assembly reach the assembly line at the time they are needed and only in the amount needed. Such a model, as we’ll discuss later, reduces waste substantially. You are thinking about final assembly and working backwards, requesting only the components and material you need when it is needed. Such a system requires you to look at the “production flow in reverse”. Recognizing this, Ohno began to envision Toyota’s manufacturing lines as a sort of supermarket - giving rise to the “just-in-time” concept at the company. Each transaction happened “according to need”. It was in stark contrast to Japan’s door-to-door hawkers at the time.Īt a supermarket, you “can get what is needed”, “at the time needed”, “in the amount needed”, Ohno observed. “The intimate relationship between the supermarket and the style of daily life in America” had left a deep impression on Ohno. Rational supermarkets and just-in-time systemsĬuriously, the inspiration for Toyota’s production system began not with Ford or General Motors but with supermarkets across the United States. The Toyota system, Ohno says, rests on two pillars: (1) “just-in-time” and (2) “autonomation” and a handful of practical business philosophies. So how did Toyota do it? “Necessity is the mother of invention”, writes Taiichi Ohno - father of the Toyota Production System (and author of the book by the same boring name). Fast forward to today and Toyota remains among the most efficient and innovative automakers in the world. Toyota’s competitive edge widened and people began to notice. The aftershock ate into Toyota’s bottomline too, but not as much as it did with others. When the 1973 oil crisis and subsequent recessions hit, companies and nations around the world suffered. Toyota knew that if they could eliminate waste and implement quality engineering, they could keep up with American mass production.

Kanban and the autonomic nervous systemįollowing the devastation of the Second World War, Toyota and other Japanese automakers had to catch up fast to Ford and General Motors if they wanted to survive.

Autonomation, stopping devices, and baka-yoke.

Rational supermarkets and just-in-time systems.Enduring lessons in business, production, and management from Taiichi Ohno and the Toyota Production System Skip ahead

Toyota just in time