Published By: SME
Pages in Print Edition:
This chapter is a historical description of the Toyota Production System and the history of lean. The main goal of the Kaizen Implementation Manual is to bring a level of competence and understanding to kaizen event participants so they may be self-sufficient in the application and use of kaizen. Organization, cleanliness, cooperation, communication, and training are all intangible assets, which are difficult to measure or quantify, but essential to the success of kaizen. Today there are many tools that originated within Toyota Production System. They are: kaizen events, kanban, jidoka, total quality management (TQM), total productive maintenance (TPM), single-minute exchange of dies (SMED), 5S (straighten, sort, shine, standardize, sustain), the visual factory, cause-and-effect diagrams with the addition of cards (CEDAC), hoshin-kanri, andon, poka-yoke, the elimination of muda (waste), and constant teaching and training of the workforce.
By Philip D Rufe, CMfgE
By Ahmad K Elshennawy, Gamal S Weheba, PhD