【In Response to Your Inquiry】Embedding TPS and Kaizen Practices
Our kaizen activities have not taken root. What can we do to ensure they are embedded in our organization?
Also, how long do you think it typically takes to fully instill the Toyota Production System (TPS) within a company?
These questions will be answered by an officially certified TPS trainer with over 40 years of hands-on experience supporting Toyota’s production sites.
A
It’s not just about understanding — it’s about execution on the shop floor.
Even if managers and supervisors have extensive knowledge of TPS, if their understanding remains theoretical and isn’t put into practice, questions like these are bound to arise.
Did you see it yourself? In TPS, those who truly know the shop floor hold the greatest strength.
Don’t ask people, ask the process.･･･
These are common expressions heard within Toyota.
Supervisors should not act as ‘bosses,’ but rather as leaders — closely observing the reality on the shop floor (genchi genbutsu) and working together with frontline workers to drive continuous improvement.
Those who work on the shop floor every day and stand at the very heart of the operation are the ones best positioned to drive meaningful improvements.
That’s because only when improvement is led by these frontline workers can it lead to practical, effective results
There is a saying: ‘Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times — but doing once is better than seeing a hundred times.’
The word ‘doing’ here means to actually go, experience it yourself, and take action. This teaching emphasizes that it’s not enough to just hear or see — you must engage directly, touch it with your own hands, and truly act.
Did you see it yourself? In TPS, those who truly know the shop floor hold the greatest strength.
Don’t ask people, ask the process.･･･
These are common expressions heard within Toyota.
Supervisors should not act as ‘bosses,’ but rather as leaders — closely observing the reality on the shop floor (genchi genbutsu) and working together with frontline workers to drive continuous improvement.
Those who work on the shop floor every day and stand at the very heart of the operation are the ones best positioned to drive meaningful improvements.
That’s because only when improvement is led by these frontline workers can it lead to practical, effective results
There is a saying: ‘Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times — but doing once is better than seeing a hundred times.’
The word ‘doing’ here means to actually go, experience it yourself, and take action. This teaching emphasizes that it’s not enough to just hear or see — you must engage directly, touch it with your own hands, and truly act.
A
Foster a strong sense of ownership and awareness of issues.
Is there anything, even as small as one yen, that is wasteful?
It is important to instill this sense of awareness in everyday activities. Encourage others to adopt this mindset and make sure they understand the importance of identifying waste in all forms.
If the company’s profits do not increase, neither will your salaries. It is important to view this as your own responsibility and make improvements, no matter how small. Think about it from the perspective of your own benefit — how to make things safer and easier for yourself.
The goal of TPS is to reduce costs through the thorough elimination of waste.
If each individual does not feel that something is a problem or waste, there is no point in doing it.
It is important to instill this sense of awareness in everyday activities. Encourage others to adopt this mindset and make sure they understand the importance of identifying waste in all forms.
If the company’s profits do not increase, neither will your salaries. It is important to view this as your own responsibility and make improvements, no matter how small. Think about it from the perspective of your own benefit — how to make things safer and easier for yourself.
The goal of TPS is to reduce costs through the thorough elimination of waste.
If each individual does not feel that something is a problem or waste, there is no point in doing it.
A
Implement continuous employee training.
Since 1950, Toyota has had a structured employee training system that divides the content into five ranks, from new hires to those reaching retirement age, based on different levels. This system has been deeply ingrained and continuously developed as part of their long-term human resource development. However, even with this, perfection has not been achieved. What is important is the continuous effort, as improvement is infinite.
A
Improvement of work (motion) processes is more important than equipment improvement.
Better to be fast and imperfect than slow and perfect.Even if you take a long time to come up with something good, if it’s too slow, it won’t work.
With the motto of making things safer, easier, cheaper, of better quality, easier to do, and faster, we strive to take action, even if it means failing, trying, and testing along the way.
To succeed in improvement, it is more important to focus on improving work (motion) processes rather than equipment.
Equipment improvements are costly and cannot be undone once don
Improvements in work (motion) processes are cost-free and can be easily undone if necessary.
Examples of unsuccessful improvement activities include situations where large, expensive equipment prevents improvements, or where factors like isolated locations or separated buildings make it impossible to change the distribution of work. These are often referred to as ‘fixed-line’ systems.
The opposite of a ‘fixed-line’ system is a ‘flexible-line,’ which aims to create production lines that can be reconfigured without losing efficiency in response to production fluctuations.
With the motto of making things safer, easier, cheaper, of better quality, easier to do, and faster, we strive to take action, even if it means failing, trying, and testing along the way.
To succeed in improvement, it is more important to focus on improving work (motion) processes rather than equipment.
Equipment improvements are costly and cannot be undone once don
Improvements in work (motion) processes are cost-free and can be easily undone if necessary.
Examples of unsuccessful improvement activities include situations where large, expensive equipment prevents improvements, or where factors like isolated locations or separated buildings make it impossible to change the distribution of work. These are often referred to as ‘fixed-line’ systems.
The opposite of a ‘fixed-line’ system is a ‘flexible-line,’ which aims to create production lines that can be reconfigured without losing efficiency in response to production fluctuations.
