19 4 Toyota Production System 1 a Beyond Large-Scale Production 10 v PR sy Taiichi Ohno TH Foreword by Norman Bodek achesHI or Te PF 8Y 1" Pad ‘i en nee ny ot Sa Ct © 1 uy & he (tease ace aon ‘Spy heey fa rater w i conga ‘ces edi a wy nomen a pao ep ml ely hs pe icon sth) Sn pn ae Cone) 2 ad Liar Congon Casein Fen Dae ‘AT pn nn a mpm etesns, Se Table of Contents Publisher's Foreword... Preface to the English Edition A. Comment on This Book ‘A Note on Japanese Names i Starting from Need “The Ol Cris Opened Our Eyer ‘Slow Growth s ery *Cach Up with Americ” Juseln-Time Using» Common Sse Mea Givethe Machine neligence ‘The Power of tndivil Skil and Teamwork Core Redon I the Go “Teson of span Indastry Establishing + Production Flow Production Leveling In he Beginning, There Was Nook ‘A Relation n Consciousness nipensable 2 [Evolution ofthe Toyota Production System Repeating Hy Five Times Complete Anaiys of Waste My Bane Fit Prciple ‘Writing the Standard Work Shot Yourself ‘Teamork Ik Bveryching “The Sl of Passing oe Biton Andes fon the U.S Spermaet ‘Wharle Kanban? Incorrect Use Causes Problems ”u i - a Toyota Production SystemStarting from Need ‘The Oil Crisis Opened Our Eyes ‘THE OIL CRISISin the fill of 1973, followed by arecession, f= fected government, business, and society the world over. By 1974, Japan's economy had collapsed toa state oF ra growth and many companies were suffering ‘But at the Toyots Motor Company, although profits suf fered, greater earnings were sustained in 1975, 197, and 197 than at other companics, The widening gap between it and ‘other companies made people wonder whae was happening a Toyou, Prior tothe ol cris, when I lked to people about Toyot's manufacturing technology and production system, I found lite interes, When rapid growth stopped, however. it be- ame very obvious chat a business could not be profitable using the conventional American mass production system that had worked so well for sa long “Times had changed. Inicaly, following World War Il, no ‘one imagined that the number of cars produced would in- tease to today's level. For decades, America had cut costs by mass- producing fewertypes tars Itwasan American work Style — but not Japanese one, Our problem was how to cut Costs while producing small numnbers of many types of cts ‘Then, during the 15-yeae period beginning in 1959-1960, Japan experienced unusually rapid economic growth. As 2 result, mass production, American style, was stil used effec tely in many areas. ‘We kepe reminding ourselves, however, tht carlessimita- tion of the American system could be dangerous, Making ‘many models in small numbers cheaply — wasnt this some-41 o1 © Pr 8) 1" in thing we could develop? And we kept thinking that a Japanese production system lke this migh: even surpass the conven tonal mass production system. Tous, che principal objective ‘of the Toyota production system wa to produce many mod- ls in smal quan, + Slow Growth Is Scary In the periods of high growth before the oil crisis, the usual business cycle consisted of two or thre years of prosperity with, at most, sie months of recesion. At Gime, prosperity lasted longer than chee yeas Slow growth, however, reverses thi cycle. An annual economic growth rate of 6 10 IU percent lasts at most six ‘months to one year, with the next or thc yeas realizing litle ono grovwth or even negative growth. Generally, Japanese industry has been accustomed toa ra ‘of if you makeit, you can sell, "and che automobile indas= try snoexception. [am affad that because ofthis, many bus- Ines managers aim for quantity, In the automobile industry the Maxcy-Silbeston! curve has been used frequently. According to this principle of mass production, although there ae limits tothe extent of cost re= Auction, the cost of an automoble decreases drastically in proportion to the increase in quantities produced. This Was proved thoroughly in the era of high growth and che principle has become embedded in the minds of people in the sutomo= tive industry. In today’s slow-growth er, however, we must downplay the metts of mass prodiction as soon as possible. Today, 4 production system aimed at increasing lot sines (or example, ‘operating a die press to punch out as many ants 38 possible ‘within agiven time period sot practical. Besides resting all kinds of waste, such a production system iso longer appro= rate for our needs, | | = "Catch Up with America” Imitating America is not always bad. We have learned a lot ftom the US. automobile empire. America has generated ‘wonderful production management. techniques, business ‘management techniques such a quality control (QC) and {oral quality control (TQC), and industrial engineering (IE) methods. Japan imported these ideas and put them into prac: ‘ice. The Japanese should never forget that these techques ‘were born in America and generated by American efforts ‘August 15, 1945, was the day Japan lose the wae it also marked new beginning for Toyota. Toyoda Kichia (1894 1952), then president af the Toyota Motor Company." sd, "Catch up with America in thre years. Otherwise, the asto~ mobile industry ofapan willnoe survive." To accomplish cis mission, wehadco know America andleaen American ways In 1987, [was working in the weaving plant of Toyoda Spinning ané Weaving. Once heard a man say cht a German, worker could produce three times 28 much 36 a Japanese ‘worker The eat hetween German and American workers was 140-3. This made the ratio hetween Japanese and American work forces I-t0-9. | sll remember my surprise a heating that ic took nine Japanese to do the job of one American iad Japanese productivity inceased tall during the war? President Toyods was saying that we should catch up in three years, bur ie would be very dificult rise productivity by fight or nine times in such a time period. Ie meant tht ajo then being done by 100 workershado be doneby 10 workers, Furthermore the fgare of one-cighth or one-ninth was a average value. If we compared the automobile industry, one ff America's most advanced industries, the ratio would have bbeen much different. But could an American eelly exert te times more physical effort? Surely, Japanese people were ‘wasting something, If we could eliminate the waste, produc tivity should eseby 2 actor often, This ide marked the stare ofthe present Toyota production systemw 1 P| i + Juseln-Time The basis of the Toyots production system is the absolute climination of waste. The ewo pillars needed to support the ‘System are ceintime + automation, or automation with a human touch Jose-in-time means that, ina lowe process, the right parts nnceded in assembly reach the assembly line st the sme hey are needed and only in the amount reeded. A company establishe ing this How throughout can approach zero inventory. From the standpoint of production management, his 39 ideal state. However, with a product made of thousands of parts, Ike theautomobile, the number of processes involved 5S enormous. Obviously, itis extremely difficult to apply Justin-time to che production pan of every proces in an Or erly way. ‘An upset in prediction, a mistake nthe paperwork, dfecive products and rework, touble with the equipment, absen= fecism — the problems are courtless. A problem easly in the process always results ina defective product liter inthe pro= fees. This will stop the production line or change # plan ‘whether you lke i or not By diseogarding such siteations and only considering the production plan fr each process we would proce parts ithe ‘out regard to later processes. Waste would result — defective parts on one hand, huge inventories of parts not needed im= Imeditely on the other Tis reduces both productivity and profitably. Even worse, there would be n> dstinction berween normal and abnormal states on each assembly line. When there is 4 clay in coctifying an abnor! state, roo many workers ‘would make too many parts, asiation not quickly eorected, ‘Therefore, to produce using just-in-time so that ath pro- xs receives the exact tem needed, when it needed, and in the quantity needed, conventional management methods do noe work well + Using a Common-Sense Idea {am fond of thinking about a problem aver and over. [kept thinking about how to supply the number of part needed Jjistanctime, The flow of production isthe raster of materi as. The conventional way was to supply materials from an Carlier process to ater process. So, Ite thinking about the transfer of materials in the reverse direction. Thautomobile production, materials machined ino a pat, the pate is then assembled with others into a unit pat, nd thi flows toward the final assembly line The material progeesses from the eater proceses toward the Iter ones, forming the body ofthe car ‘Let's look at this production flow in reverse: later process {goes 10 an earlier process to pick up only che right part in the quantity needed at the exict time needed, In this casey ‘Wouldn't be logical fr the earlier process to make only the number of parts withdrawn? As far as communication be- tovcen the many processes is conccmned, wouldn't it be sulicien a clearly indicate what and how many are needed? ‘We wil ell this means of indication kanban (sign board) and circulate it between each of the processes to control the amount of production — thar is, the amount needed. This twas the beginning ofthe ides ‘We experimented with this and finally decided on asytem, ‘The final assembly line is taken asthe starting point. On this ‘ass, the production pla, indicating the desired types of cas swith ‘their quantity and due date, goes co the Final assembly Tine, Then the method oftransfering the materials reversed ‘To supply parts used in assembly, a later process goes to an alice process to withdraw only the number of parts needed ‘hen they arenseded, In this reverse way, the manulicturing process poe from finished product back tothe earliest material forming department. Every link inthe jstein-eime chain i= connected and synchronized. By this, the management work. force's also reduced drastically. And Kanban ithe means used for conveying information about picking up oF tecelving the production order,HI 0 1m PI 3 Kanban will be described later in deal. Heze, want the ‘reader to understand the basic postace ofthe Toyota produce tion system. The system is supported by the just-in-time sys- tem, already dietssed, and autonomation, described in the hext section, The kanban method s the means by which the ‘Toyota production system moves smoothly. +» Give the Machine Intelligence ‘The other pillar ofthe Toyota production system is called au- tonomation — not tobe confused with simple automation. It isalso known as automation with ahiman touch, Many machines operate by thersslves once the switch is tamed on. Today's machines have such high performance Capabilities, however, that a small abnormality such asa piece fof scrap fang ino the machine, ca damage tin some Way. ‘The dies or taps break, for instance: When this happens, tens and soon hundreds of defective part are produced and quickly pileup. With an automated machine ofthis type, mass pro- ‘Suction of defective products cannot be prevented. There n0 ‘uil-in aucomatic checking system against such mishaps. ‘Thisie why Toyots emphasizes setonomation — machines that can prevent auch problems "autonomously" — over imple automation, Thee originated with the invention af analutoactivated eeaving machineby Toyoda Sakich (1867- 1930), founder ofthe Toyota Motor Company, “The loom stopped instantly if ary one ofthe warp or weft threads broke. Because a device that could distinguish be- tween normal and abnormal conditions was bull into the ‘machine, defective products were not produced ‘At Toyota, a machine automated with « human touch sone that is tached to an automatic stopping device. Inall Toyota st machines, new oF old, are equipped with such jou safety devices, Bxed-positon stop ping, the fllswork system, and bskaeyokefoolproofing s¥5- {ens to prevent defective products sce the glossary for farher explanation). In this way, human intelligence, or 2 human touch, i given to the machines. ‘Avronomation changes the meaning of management as well. An operator not needed while the machine working norenlly. Only when the machine tops because of an abnormal Stuation does it gethuman attention. Asa result, one worker fan attend several machines, making it possible to reduce the tnumber of operator and increase production efficiency. Looking at this another way, abnormalities will never dis- appear ita worker always atends to a machine and stands in foriewhen an abnormality does occur. Anold Japanese saying, ‘mentions hiding an offensively smelly object by covering it ‘op IF materials or machines ae repaired without the manag ing supervisor's being made aware of improvement tll ‘ever be achieved and costs will never be reduced. Stopping the machine when there is erouble forces aware- ress on everyone. When the problem is clearly understood, improvement is possible. Expanding ths thought, we estab- lish a rule that even ina manually operated production line, the workers themselves should push the stop button to hal production ifany abnormality appears. Ta product like the automobile, safeey must always be of primary importance, Therefore, on any machine on any production linen any plan, distinctions berween normal and Abnormal operations must be clear and countermeasures al- ‘ways taken to prevent recurrence. This is why T made auton tation the other pillar ofthe Toyota production system. +» The Power of Individual Skill and Teamwork Implementing autonomation sup tothe managers and super- visors of each production area, The Key isto give human intel ligence tothe machine and, atthe same time, to adapt the simple ‘movement ofthe human operator to the autonomous machines. ‘Whats the elatonship between justan-ime and automation wih a human couch, the eo pillars ofthe Tayors production system? Using the analogy of baseball ream, sutonomation corresponds tothe sill and talent of individual players while Jjustin-time is che teamovork involved in reaching an agreed ‘upon objective.For example, a playerin the outfield has nothing todo as ong, asthe pater has no problems. But aproblem — the opposing tate geting hit for example — activates the outfielder who catches the bal and throwsit othe baseman “justindime” to put ‘he runner out ‘Managers and supervisors ina manuticeuring plan are ike the geam manager and the bating, tase, and fed coaches. A "trong barcbll team has mastered the plays the players can meet any situation with coordinated action. In mamafactar- ing, the production team that has mastered the justin-cime system sexacly ikea baseball eam :hat plays well together ‘Autonomation, of the other hang, performs a dual role. Ie liminates overproduction, an imporane waste in manafactut- ing, and prevents the production of defective products. To tceomplish his, standard work procedures, cortesponding to tach players ability, must be adhered to aa imes. When ab- formalities arise ~ tht i, when a payer's ability cannot be brought ous — special instruction must be given co bring the player back to normal. Thisisan important duty ofthe coach Inthe autonomated system, visel control, or “manage ment by sigh, can elp bring production weaknesses (ineach player, that is) o thesutface. Thisalowsusthen to take mess- festa stengdhien the players involved. ‘A championship team combines good teamwork wich indi vidual skill, Likewise, a production line where justin-ime “nd automation with human touch work together isstronger than or lines, ls powerisin che syrengy ofthese two fictors. + Cost Reduction Is the Goal Frequently we use the word “eficiney” when talking about production, management, and busvess. “Efficiency,” in mod {nn industry and busines in genera, micans cost reduction, ‘At Toyota, 2 in all manfsctrirg industees, profi can be obtained only by reducing cost. When we apply the cost prin= ‘ple selling pie = pro actual cog, we make the consumer responsible for every cost, This ariniple has no place in today’s competitive automobile incustry. (Our products are scrutinized by cool-headed consumers in fice, competitive market where the manufacturing cost oF 4 product is of no consequence. The question is whether or not the producti of value the buyer. a high prices set because ofthe manufacturer's cos, consumers wll simply turn away, (Cost reduction must be the goal of consumer products manufacturers trying to survive n today’s marketplace. Dur~ ing period o high economic growth, any manufacturer can achieve lower costs with higher production. Butineodsy's low frowth period, toachieve any form of cost reduction isdiffical "There sno magic method. Rather, s total management y= tem is needed that develops human ability titles capac ity 0 best enhance creativity and feutfuless, to ubize faites and machines well, and to eliminate ll waste "The Toyota production system, with its two pills ad~ vocating the absolute elimination of waste, was born in Japan cout of necessity. Today. in an era of slow economic growth ‘worldwide, this production system represents concept in ‘management that will work for any eypeof business, + The Illusion of Japanese Industey ‘After World War when Toyoda Kiichird, father of apanese car production, advocated catching up with Ameria in three Yeats, this became Toyotas goal. Beeause the goal was cles, Activity at Toyota beetme focused and vigorous ‘My job una 1943 wasin textiles, noc automobiles; this was an advantage. In ict, the idea of automation with human touch was obtained from the auto-actvated looms of Toyoda Sakichiseexie plant, When I moved to automobile produc ton, although 1 was new, I could spot its ments and shortcomings in comparison to the textile plant ‘During postwar rhabiliation, Japan's automobile industry hhad a rough ime. Domestie production for 1949 was 25,622 ‘tucks and only 1,008 passenger cars Insignificant as domestic production seemed, Toyota's production plant wa filled with ager people trying to do something. President Toyod’s ‘Words "Cath up with America” generated this spiters In 1947, Las in charge of the No. 2 manufactucing machine shop atthe pesent an ofc plant in Toyota City then eiled the Koromo plan. To catch up with America, 1 thought of having one operator cat for many machines sad aso diferent types of machines ruber han one person et thachine. Therefore, the Bes sep wis establish flow ays tein the machine shop in Americana well in most Jpanese machine shops, late operator, for example, opecaes only lathes. In many plane layouts, ss many a 50 oF 100 thes ate one location ‘When machining is completed, che items ate collected and taken tothe subsequent deling process With that finshed, the tems chen gota the miling proces In the United Ste, there union Tr each ob function with enany unions each company. Lathe operators ar inwed'o operate only lathes, Acringjb mus be taken to 3 ding operator. And becase the operators ae sigle-kie = ‘welding Jb equred atthe athe ecion cannot be done there Thue must be taken to 4 welding operator As consequence, there ars lage numberof peopl nd machines: For America industis to achieve cost eduction under such conditions, Imasproduccon ithe only answer ‘When large quantities te produced, che labor cont peat and deprecation burden are reduced. Ths ecqules high perforinance, high-speed machine that are both large and "Fs (pe of production i plaasd mass production 2ys- tem in sehich each process male any part and forwards them othe next proces. Tht method nary generates sBundance of wit, Fram the Gmnettacquied ths American System une the 1973 ol ess, Japan a the usin ha eis sytem fit thir neds + Establishing a Production Flow tis never easy co break the machine-shop tradition in which ‘operators ae fied to jobs, for exzmple, lathe operators 0 lathe work and welders to welding work. It worked in Japan only because we were willing todoit. The Toyota production system began when I challenged the old sytem ‘With the outbreak ofthe Korean War in une 1950, Japanese industry recovered its viger. Riding this wave of growth the automobile industry aso expanded. At Toyota, it w35 2 busy tnd hee year, beginning i Api! with a three-month labor Aispute over manpower reduction, followed by President Toyoda Kishiro’ assuming responsibility forthe stoke and resigning. After this, the Korean War broke out Although there were special wartime demands, we were far fom mass production, We were sill prodicing small quan- ties of many models ‘Ac this time, Iwas manager of the machine shop ae the Koromo plant. As an experiment, [arranged the various ‘machines in the sequence of machining processes. This was a radical change from the conventional sytem in which a large ‘quantity of the same part was machined in one process and then forwarded to the next process, 1 1947, we arranged machines in parallel nes or in an = shape and tried having one worker operate three ar four ‘machines along the processing route, We encountered strong resistance among the production ‘workers, however, cven ‘though there was no increasein work ot hours. Our craismen ‘dd not like the new arrangement requiring them to function 35 mult-sblled operators. They did not like changing from “one operator. one machine" «0 a system of "one operstor, many machines in diferent processes. “Their resistance was understandable. Furthermore, our ef fortsrevealed various problems, For example, amachine must be set up to stop wihen machining is finished; sometimes there ‘were so many adjustments that an tnsilled operator found the job dificuleo handle ‘As these problems became lerer, they showed me the di- rection to continue moving in. Although young and eager co push I decided not to press for quick, drastic changes, Butt be patient.+ Production Leveling, In business, nothing is more pleasing than customer orders. With the labor dispute aver and the ypecial demands of the Korean War Beginning, «lively tension tilled the production plant How would wehandle the demand for tucks? People in the production plant were fant ‘There was a shortage of everything tom crude materials ro parts, We could not get things in the quantity or the time heeded, Our parts suppliers were ako shore on equipment and manpower. Because Toyota made chassis, wher many pats didnot r= rive on Gime oF in the right amount, assembly work was de- layed. For tis reason, we could not de assembly during the first half ofthe month, We were forced to gather the parts that ‘were arriving intermittently and regularly and do the astem= by work attheend ofthe mouth. Likethe old song "dekansha™ that ell ofsleping half the year, this was dknsho production and the approach nearly did ws in fa partis needed a the rat of 1,000 per month, we should make 40 parts 2 day for 25 days. Furthermore, we should spread production evenly theonghovt the workday. If the ‘Workday i 480 minutes, weshould average one piece every 12 ‘minutes, This idea later developed into production leveling. "Exablishing (I) prodvcton flow ad (2) 2 way to maintain a.constant supply of rw materials fom outside or parts tobe ‘machined was che way dhe Toyota, ce Japanese, production system should be operated, Our minds were filed with ideas, ‘Because there were shortages of everything, we must have thought iallrightto increase manpower and machines to pro= luce and store tems. At the ume, we were making no more than 1,000 to 2,000 eats a month, and keeping sone-monthin= ventory in eich process, Except for needing large Warehouse, this dd not seem too big aburden. We did foresee {big problem, however, and sehen production increased To! avoid his potential problems, we looked for ways t0 level all production. We wanted to get away from having to prodiace everything around the end of the month, 20 we started by looking inside Toyora itself: Then, when outside Suppliers were needed, we frst listened to thei needs and then asked them to cooperate in helping us achiewe leveled produc- tion, Depending on the situation, we discosed the siplier’s ‘ooperation in terms of manpower, materials, and money. + In the Beginning, There Was Need So ar, Ihave described, in sence the fundamental princi Hes ofthe Toyosprodction system ani base stucae ‘rou ik romps that as reased tees there were Slray lar purposes ond acede strongly lieve that "necessity isthe mother of inven sim" Even today, improvements 3 Toyot plants ate made tape on need The key to progesin production improvement Tf length plat people el he ned Even my own fr bud the Toyo production tem tock by Black were lo bared onthe rong need vo dcover 2new production method that wouldcliminste waste and elp Ss exth up with Ameren thre years, For example he des of lar pow going to an ale proces 10 plok up materials ested from the elowng ci Evan Inthe conventional sytem ay ere proce fr warded procs vo later proce continnosly rgardes of the production requirements ofthat proces, Mountains of Pare sherefore, mig pileup tthe aver proces At that Print, workers spent tar me looking for soroge space and rng for part instead of making progres in the Most n- portant parce ther jobs — production, Somchowe thi wate had ob cimanated and tment m= redizely topping the asomatc forwarding of parts fem tater procests Tsong ced made ws chang our meta Rearrangng the machines onthe or tocsbis proguce tin lw eliminated the vaste of storing part, eala helped ts achicv he “on operator, sony proseersyiem and ine cresed production efcency two and thre tes. Taltesdy mentioned that m America this sytem could notte implemented easily. was posible in Japan because we Iheked fancon-orened union lik the Europe ad te Ud Ste. Consequenty, hetarston from the single tre maltrsied operator went relsvly smooths at though there waving estan fom the erate. This {nestor mean: however that pane unions ave weer than that Amerie and Europea coumtexprce, Mach fhe i= fence esi story and clr. Somesay that ade union npn epost versal i vided wet lacking mobiiy wile inson-orened un Sr Euope and Amerie exept erally divided socees svn geter mobility. Ts this arta 02 [on think 0 Tne American system, the operators ays athe operator ands welder st welder the end. fn the fpanese ST, sn operstar haya broad peso of kl een op- iets handle a ling machine ed also ran ling, machine Hecan even perform welng. Who oy which Syuem's beer? Since many a theiferences come rom the Hotory and etre af the two costes, we shoul Took for the mena in bot ithe puncsesystem, operators scquir abroad spectrum xprodttonshibharteslimanccerng see snd parc gale m bung up a toul system the production plat. Tn This way, the nvidia ea nd value m vrkine ‘Newt an oppontniss ae abays tere We ust have to dive oul find the paces ones What ae the een {hl med of busines snes los growth conditions? ether Swouts, how tan we rae producti when the prodecton {ons netncessing + A Revolution in Consciousness Is Indispensable “There s no waste in business more terrible than overproduc- tion. Why doesit occur? ‘We naturally fel more secure witha considerable amount ofinventory. Before, during, and ater World War, buying and hoarding were natural behaviors. Even inthis more af Aerie poop hoe pend deren hen "We could sy thie the response of farming society. Our ancestors grew ee or subsience ad stored in preparation Tortimes of natural dsaster. From ovr experience during he cilrss,welearmed har basic ta oot changed mech ‘Modern indsery alo seems stack i thie wry of hiking. {A peso in bonnes may fel uneasy about surf hb compe ody withuthepng otc vers Imari, work-in-proces, and products “This typeof hosing, however, no longer practical k- usr seciry must develop the courage, othe the com= ‘mom sense to procire only what i needed when i needed Andin de mount nesded "Ths requires what Il 2 revolution in consciousness, 2 enange of ated and viewpoint by business people, tn 2 Period of slow growth, holdings lange inventory cute he trate of overproduction. leasolcastoan inventory of dele tives, which ha serious busines lose, We must Undertand these stations indepth before we can achieve revaltion2 Evolution of the Toyota Production System Repeating Why Five Times WHEN CONFRONTED WITH 2 problem, have you ever stopped and asked why five times? Ie dificult co do even though ie sounds easy. For example, suppose a machine stopped functioning 1. Why did he machine stop? "There was an overload andthe fase blew. 2. Why was there an overload? ‘The bearing was not sufficiently lubricated. 3. Why was ienor ubrcated sufficiently? ‘The lubrication pump was noc pomping sufficiently 4. Why was it not pumping sufficiently? "The shat ofthe pump was woen and rating 5. Why was the shaft worn out? “There was no strainer attached and metal serap got in, Repeating wy five times, like this, can help uncover the oot problem and correct ifs procedure were not caried ‘hrough, one might simply eeplae the fuse or the pump shaft Inthat ease, the problem would recur within afew months. "To tll the truth, the Toyota production system has been built on the practice and evolution ofthis scientific approach, [By asking why five times and answering i cach time, we can getco the eal cause ofthe prablem, hich i often hidden be- find more obvious eympromsfist U.S.~style supermarket appecred in the mid-1980s. And, as mote and more Japanese people visited the United Stte, they saw the intimate relationship between the supermarket anid the syle of daly lifein Amer-a, Consequently. this type Of seore became the rage Japan det Japanese curiosity and Fardness for imitation, 1956, toured US. production plants t General Motors, Ford, and other machinery companies But my strongest i= pression was the extent of the supermarkets prevalence in ‘America. The reason for this seas that by the Inte 194k, 3 Toyota's machine shop that T managed, we were already studying the U.S. supermarket and applying its methods to ‘our work, ‘Combining automobiles and supermarkets may stem odd. But for a long time, since learning about the setup of sper- markets in America, we made a connection between super= markets and the just-in-time system 'A supermarket is where 4 customer can get (I) what is needed, (2) at the time needed, '3) in the amount needed Sometimes, of course, a customer may buy more than he or she needs. In principle, however, the supermarket sa place Where we buy accarding to need. Supermarket operators, Therefore, must make certain thie customers can Buy what they need st any time, ‘Compared to Japan's tradition, turn-ofthe-century mer chandising methods such as peddling medicines door to doar, fing around to customers to sake orders, and hawking ‘wares, America's supermarket system is more rational. From the sellers viewpoint, labor is not wasted carzying items that may not sell, while the buyer does nor have to worry about ‘whether to buy extea tems From the supermarket we got tk idea of viewing the crler processina production line ass kirdofstore Thelater process {castomet) goes ta the eatier proces (supermarket) to acquire ‘he required pats (commodities) the time and in the quan ‘ity needed, ‘The eatlier process immediately produces the ‘quantity just taken (restocking the shelves). We hoped that this would help us approach ou justein-rime goal and, in 1953, we actly applied the system in our machin shop at themain pl ° in the 19505, American-style supermarkets appeared in Japan, bringing the object of our serach rven caer Ad When in Ameria in 1936, 1 ally fled way desir visa supermarket athand ‘Gur biggest problem with thi system was how ro avoid throating the eater proces to confsion sen» ntexpro- cess picked up large quamitcs ta time, Eventually, fer dnd error, we cate ip with production leveling, described inter in the book Figure 1 A Sample of Kanban » What Is Kanban? ‘The operating method of the Toyota production system is anan. Is most frequently used form sa piece of paper com tained in a ectangulac vinyl envelope ‘This piece of paper caries information that can be divided into theee categories (1) pickup information, (2) tanarinfor= ‘mation, and (3) production information, The kanban carries the information vertically and laterally within Toyota itself[As I sid ealier, the ides came from the supermatkes, Sup- pose wetake kabun into the supermarket How wouldit work? ‘Commodities purchased by customers are checked out ‘rowel the exh register. Cards that cary information about the types and quantities of commodities ought are then for- ‘warded co the purchasing department. Using this informa ‘ion, commodities taken are swify replaced by purchasing ‘These cards correspond to the withdawal Kanban in the ‘Toyota production system, In the supermarket, the com- odes drplayed inthe store cortespand tothe inventory a the production plane Ha supermarkct had its wn production plant neaeby, there would be production kanban in addition to the withdrawal Kanban between che store and the production department. From the directions on this kanban, te production depart ‘ment would produce the aumber af commodities picked up ‘OF course, supermarkets have not gone that fa, In oUF production plant, however, we have seen doing this from the beginning, "The supermarkee system was adopted in che machine shop around 1953, To makeit work, we used pieces of paper listing, the pare number of piece and other information related (0 ‘machining work. We called this “kanban.” ‘Subsequently, this was called the "kanban system.” We felt thu f this system were wsed skilfully, all movements inthe plant could be snified or systematized, Afer all, one piece of paper provided aa glance the following information: produc flon quantity, time, method, sequence or tansfer quantity, transfer time, destination, storage point. cansfer equipment, ‘container, and 50 08. At the time, [did net doubt that this tae of conveying information would ceialy Wark ‘Generally in a business, what, when, and ow many ate gen~ erated by the work planning section nthe formofa work tart, plan, tansfer plan, production order, o- delivery order passed Ehrough the plant, When this systems ased, "when" issetar~ bitrarly and people thine wal bea right whether parts arrive fn dime or carly. Managing parts made too carly, however, mans carrying a lot of intermediate workers. The word “jue” josein-time” means exactly chat, I parts arrive any- time prior to their need — not atthe precise dime needed — waste cannot be eliminated In the Toyota production system. overproduction is com= pletely prevented by Kanban. Asa result, theee no need for xtra invencory and, consequently, there is no need for the ‘warehouse and its manager. Generation of countless paper slip also becomes unecessary. + Incorrect Use Causes Problems ‘With a better tol, we an get wonderfal results. Butifweuse itincorrecly, the tool can make things wore, “Kanban is one of those tools that it used improperly can ‘ause a variety of problems. To employ kanban properly and skilflly, we tied to clearly understand its purpose and role and then establish rules for is use ‘Kanban isa way to achieve just-in-time; its purpose isjust- incsime. Kanban, essence, Becomes the utonomicnerveof the production line. Based on this, production workers start work by themselves, and make their own decisions concert ing overtime. The Kanban system also makes clear what must bedone by managers and supervisors. This unquestionably promotes improvement in both work and equipment. The goal of liminating wasteisaleo highlighted by kanban, les use immediatly shows what is wast, allowing for creative seady and improvement proposals. In the production plat, Kanban is 1 powerful foree to reduce manpower and inven tory, eliminate defective products, and prevent the recurrence of breakdowns. Tes not an overstatement to say that kanban controls the fow of goods at Toyota le controls the production of 3 com= pany exceeding $4.8 billion a yeat. Te this way, Toyota's Kanban system cleasly elects our wishes eis practiced under src les and its effectiveness shown by our company's achievements. The Toyota produc tion system, however, advances by the minute and close Superusion of the kanban rules is neverending problem,