TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM

The practical expression of Toyota's people and customer-oriented philosophy is known as the Toyota Production System (TPS). Many of these ideas have been adopted and imitated all over the world.

TPS has three desired outcomes:

• To provide the customer with the highest quality vehicles, at lowest possible cost, in a timely manner with the shortest possible lead times.

• To provide members with work satisfaction, job security and fair treatment.

• It gives the company flexibility to respond to the market, achieve profit through cost reduction activities and long-term prosperity.

Toyota members seek to continually improve their standard processes and procedures in order to ensure maximum quality, improve efficiency and eliminate waste. This is known as kaizen and is applied to every sphere of the company's activities.

Just In Time.

• Essentially, 'just in time' manufacturing consists of allowing the entire production process to be regulated by the natural laws of supply and demand.
• Customer demand stimulates production of a vehicle. In turn the production of the vehicle stimulates production and delivery of the necessary parts and so on.
• The result is that the right parts and materials are manufactured and provided in the exact amount needed - and when and where they are needed.
• Under 'just in time' the ultimate arbiter is always the customer.
• Toyota never tries to accommodate changes in demand by making substantial changes in individuals' workloads.
• Within the plant itself, the mechanism whereby production is regulated in this way is known as the kanban.A kanban is simply a message.
• Paperwork is minimised. Efficiency is maximised. And the Members themselves are completely in charge.

Suppliers & TPS

• Just-in-time manufacturing and other elements of the Toyota Production System work best when they are a common basis for synchronising activity throughout the production sequence.  Just-in-time manufacturing can dissolve inventories at parts suppliers just as readily and effectively as it does at Toyota's assembly plants. Product quality improves, too. That's because the Toyota Production System includes measures for illuminating defects whenever and wherever they occur.
• Suppliers who adopt the Toyota Production System also report improvements in employee-management relations. That is mainly because the system provides for an expanded role for employees in designing and managing their own work. It brings together employees and management in the joint pursuit of improvements in productivity, quality, and working conditions.