Hey everyone. Welcome to this lecture. What is Toyota production system? Toyota first caught the world's attention in the 1980s when it became clear that there was something special about Japanese quality and efficiency, Japanese cars were lasting longer than American cars, and required much less repair. And by the 1990s, it became apparent that there was something even more special about Toyota compared to other automakers in Japan. It was not eye popping car designs or performance, though the ride was smooth, and the designs often very refined.
It was the way Toyota engineered and manufactured the autos that lead to unbelievable consistency in the process and product. Toyota designed autos faster with More reliability, yet at a competitive cost, even when paying the relatively high wages of Japanese workers. equally impressive was that every time Toyota showed an apparent weakness and seemed vulnerable to the competition, it miraculously fix the problem and came back even stronger. Toyota is in the top 10 auto manufacturers in the world, and it's brand new Lexus tops this list for reliability as well as sales. Not just this, Toyota is also far more profitable than any other auto manufacturer. What is the secret of Toyota's success?
The incredible consistency of Toyota's performance is a direct result of operational excellence. This operational excellence is termed as Toyota Production System or TPS, the Toyota Production System is Toyota's unique approach to manufacturing. It is the next major evolution in efficient business processes after the mass production system invented by Henry Ford, and it has been documented, analyzed, and exported to companies across industries throughout the world. TPS is not a toolkit. It is not just a set of lean tools like just in time, can ban fibers etc. It is a sophisticated system of production in which all the parts contribute to the whole.
The whole as its roots focuses on supporting and encouraging people to continually improve the processes they work on. When looked at more broadly TPS is about applying the principles of the Toyota v. You will learn more about TPS and the Toyota way in subsequent lectures. Let's begin with a deeper understanding of TPS by looking at the TPS house