3/14/2015

ToyotaGlobalSite|TheoriginoftheToyotaProductionSystem

The origin of the Toyota Production System

Company

Aproductionsystemthathasbeenfinetunedovergenerations

Message from
President

Roots of the Toyota Production System

Vision & Philosophy

TheToyotaProductionSystem(TPS),whichis
steepedinthephilosophyof"thecomplete
eliminationofallwaste"imbuesallaspectsof
productioninpursuitofthemostefficientmethods,
tracingbackitsrootstoSakichiToyoda'sautomatic
loom.TheTPShasevolvedthroughmanyyearsof
trialanderrortoimproveefficiencybasedonthe
JustinTimeconceptdevelopedbyKiichiroToyoda,

Sakichi Toyoda
(1867-1930)

Guiding Principles

ToyodaPowerLoomequippedwithanew
weftbreakageautomaticstoppingdevice

Toyota Global Vision

(developedin1896)
World'sfirstautomaticloomwithanonstop
shuttlechangemotion,theTypeGToyoda
AutomaticLoom(developedin1924)

Toyota Global Vision

Special Content
Toyota Production
System

thefounder(andsecondpresident)ofToyotaMotor
Corporation.

Toyota Code of Conduct

Kiichiro Toyoda
(1894-1952)

Just-in-Time

cases,extraneousprocessingstepsinothercases,

Drawingonhisexperienceofintroducinga

Jidoka

anddefectiveproductsinyetothercases.Allthese

flowproductionmethodusingachain

"waste"elementsintertwinewitheachotherto

conveyorintotheassemblylineofatextile

createmorewaste,eventuallyimpactingthe

plant(completedin1927)withamonthly

managementofthecorporationitself.

productioncapacityof300units,Kiichiro

Wastecanmanifestasexcessinventoryinsome

TheautomaticloominventedbySakichiToyodanot
onlyautomatedworkwhichusedtobeperformed
manuallybutalsobuiltthecapabilitytomake
judgmentsintothemachineitself.Byeliminating

Toyodaalsointroducedthismethodintothe
bodyproductionlineatToyotaMotorCo.,
Ltd.'sKoromoPlant(presentdayHonsha
Plant),completedin1938.

bothdefectiveproductsandtheassociatedwasteful

Origin of the Toyota

Production System
Illustration of the Toyota
Production System
Quiz on the Toyota
Production System

Globalizing and Localizing

Manufacturing

practices,Sakichisucceededintremendously
improvingbothproductivityandworkefficiency.
KiichiroToyoda,whoinheritedthisphilosophy,set
outtorealizehisbeliefthat"theidealconditionsfor
makingthingsarecreatedwhenmachines,facilities,

History of Toyota
TypeGAutomatic

ToyotaStandard

Loomassembly

SedanModelAA

line

announcedin1936

Company Profile

andpeopleworktogethertoaddvaluewithout
generatinganywaste."Heconceivedmethodologies
andtechniquesforeliminatingwastebetween

Toyota Traditions

Eiji Toyoda (1913-)

operations,betweenbothlinesandprocesses.The

Byensuringthoroughimplementationof

resultwastheJustinTimemethod.

jidokaandtheJustinTimemethod,Eiji
Toyodaincreasedworkers'productivityby

Bypracticingthephilosophiesof"Daily

addingvalueandrealizedtheToyota

Improvements"and"GoodThinking,GoodProducts,"

ProductionSystem,whichenabledToyotato

theTPShasevolvedintoaworldrenowned

competeheadonwithcompaniesinEurope

productionsystem.Furthermore,allToyota

andtheU.S.

Toyota Social Media

Employee Driving
Project

productiondivisionsaremakingimprovementstothe
TPSdayandnighttoensureitscontinuedevolution.
Recently,the"Toyotaspiritofmakingthings"is
referredtoasthe"ToyotaWay."Ithasbeenadopted
notonlybycompaniesinsideJapanandwithinthe
automotiveindustry,butinproductionactivities
worldwide,andcontinuestoevolveglobally.

Taiichi Ohno
(1912-1990)
WithstrongbackingfromEijiToyoda,
TaiichiOhnohelpedestablishtheToyota
ProductionSystem,andbuiltthefoundation
fortheToyotaspiritof"makingthings"by,
forexample,creatingthebasicframework
fortheJustinTimemethod.

Toyota's spirit of "making things" is being spread throughout the world as The Toyota Way

http://www.toyotaglobal.com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_production_system/origin_of_the_toyota_production_system.html

1/2

3/14/2015

Home

ToyotaGlobalSite|TheoriginoftheToyotaProductionSystem

Company

Vision & Philosophy

Toyota Production System

Origin of the Toyota Production System

http://www.toyotaglobal.com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_production_system/origin_of_the_toyota_production_system.html

2/2