What is Toyota Production System

The Toyota Production System (TPS) combines management philosophy and practices that organizes manufacturing and logistics for the automobile manufacturer, including interaction with suppliers and customers. The system is a major precursor of the more generic "Lean manufacturing." Taiichi Ohno, Shigeo Shingo and Eiji Toyoda developed the system between 1948 and 1975. Originally called "Just In Time Production," it builds on the approach created by the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda, his son Kiichiro Toyoda, and the engineer Taiichi Ohno. The founders of Toyota drew heavily on the work of W. Edwards Deming and the writings of Henry Ford. When these men came to the United States to observe the assembly line and mass production that had made Ford rich, they were unimpressed. While shopping in a supermarket they observed the simple idea of an automatic drink resupplier; when the customer wants a drink, he takes one, and another replaces it.

The main goals of the TPS are to design out overburden (muri), inconsistency (mura) and eliminate waste (muda). The biggest effects on process value delivery are achieved by designing a process to be capable of delivering the required results smoothly; by designing out 'mura'. Next in line is to ensure that the process can flex as much as required without stress or 'muri' since this generates 'muda'. Finally the tactical improvements of waste reduction or the elimination of 'muda' are very valuable. There are 7 kinds of muda targeted in the TPS:

1. over-production
2. motion (of operator or machine)
3. waiting (of operator or machine)
4. conveyance
5. processing itself
6. inventory (raw material)
7. correction (rework and scrap)