Lean manufacturing is about continuous improvement. Lean believes even the most lean manufacturer can have 30% of waste in their system. So the famous Toyota Production System or the TPS can also have plenty of room for improvement.
I was watching a video on Toyota’s workflow yesterday (You can watch it by clicking here). It was very interesting to see actually how Toyota is practicing lean. They have a good combination of automation with manual intervention in manufacturing. But they have little too much of inspection for my liking. Some of the main processes are followed by part by part inspection processes.
Higher inspection means they are not comfortable with the quality of work. Root cause for higher inspection might be the limitations with technology available or simply the cost effectiveness. If not this is a waste which adds no value to the end product.
This is an important lesson for any lean manufacturer. If you question the processes, you will find new wastes, hence opportunities for improvement. This is why lean is a continuous process which can not be stopped.
2 comments:
It is interesting to note the bass boat seat used in the assembly process. From touring the facility (three separate occasions) I learned that the team developed the cantilever seat in the name of lean.
i agree that the level of inspection seems to be not only heavy but also contrary to the TPS way.
Having worked as one of Toyota's internal TPS consultants for 18 years, I can tell you what your looking at. All processes in the plants have some inspection keypoints attached to Standardized work which you see in each of the different departments. Sometimes due to, as an example, a defect in a mold the operator may be required to perform an additional inspection step as part of standardized work until the problem is resolved. Now, the inspection processes on the video are departmental inspections. Each department does a thorough inspection prior to allowing the vehicle to leave. This is where the main KPI for the department is captured and fed back to the preceeding processes.
On the flip side, you probably be surprised at the number of areas within Toyota not practicing TPS. This is due to the influx of Senior Managers hired directly from other Manufacturers into Toyota without fully understanding TPS. The more effective Managers come up through the ranks. Just my opinion.
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