Creating a system for making a product of the highest quality, while eliminating waste, is a never-ending process. Enter the Toyota Production System. A philosophy based on the ingenious organization of work processes, high efficiency, and uncompromising quality. A tried and true production concept conducive to success, which nearly all automakers now try to emulate. Toyota’s production system is based on the notion of continuous improvement. Its evolution is never-ending; it continues on a daily basis.
Kaizen means continuous improvement, one of the pillars of the Toyota Production System. Kaizen includes every improvement that helps increase productivity, regardless of how seemingly insignificant. Subscribing to the kaizen philosophy translates into never being satisfied with the status quo. Even a few seconds saved in the manufacture of an automobile carries significant savings.
The main cause of waste is defects. Energy spent on fixing them generates zero value added. For this reason, in order for waste to be eliminated, every worker must perform quality control. As soon as a problem is identified, the production process is immediately stopped, which prevents the defect from advancing to further production stages. This way, both the problem and its cause can be eliminated at the point of origination. Identifying and eliminating the causes of defects and problems is the key to manufacturing automobiles of unsurpassed quality.
Because large storage warehouses involve high financial costs, Toyota sought ways of achieving savings. The outcome is Just-in-Time, an ingenious supply system, thanks to which large stocks of materials for production purposes do not need to be maintained. Each of the components is only delivered to the production plants when needed, and only in the amount needed.
To be able to harness available synergies and to respond rapidly to any problem that may emerge, all workers must have the same access to standardized information. For this reason, the Toyota Production System places great emphasis on visualization. All workers, ranging from assembly line operators, technicians, and maintenance staff, to supervisors, must have information at their fingertips on the progress of the production process at any given time.
The Toyota Production System and Quality Management System (ISO 9001) have been implemented to ensure the satisfaction of all stakeholders.