The Secret of Toyota’s success is set of management principles developed over period of 40 years, known as the “Toyota Production System” or “Lean Production”. The Toyota Way explains how any manager can implement the management principles and business philosophy that are the basis of Toyota’s reputation for high quality and profitability. These foundational principles include:
Eliminating wasted time and resources; Building quality into workplace systems; Finding low-cost but reliable alternatives to expensive new technology; Producing in small quantities (instead of mass production); Eliminating wasted time in every business process (continuous flow); Holding little or no inventory; Turning every employee into a quality control inspector and continuous improvement specialist.
Toyota’s success with this method has spawned an industry of consultants and has changed manufacturing practices around the world – Boeing has begun using Toyota’s “Lean” approach to building planes.
The Toyota Way explains how managers in any industry can improve the speed of their business process and dramatically improves the quality of their products and services, while cutting costs.
About the author:
Dr. Jeffrey K. Liker is Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan. He is also co-founder and Director of the Japan Technology Management Program, and the Value Chain Analysis Program at the University of Michigan. Dr. Liker is a nationally recognized authority on Toyota’s lean manufacturing methods, and a frequent keynote speaker at industrial conferences. His writings on Toyota have appeared in The Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, and other leading publications. He is also a principal of Optiprise, a lean enterprise/supply chain management consulting firm and has consulted to Chrysler, Ford, Renault, Mack Truck, Solar Turbines, John Deers and Whirlpool. Dr. Liker has published over 60 articles on Japanese supply chain management and Toyota’s product development system. He is the editor of Becoming Lean: Experiences of US Manufacturers, winner of the 1998 Shigeo Shingo prize for excellence in manufacturing research. He has also won Shingo prizes for his research in 1995, 1996 and 1997.
