Learning From Toyota

Achieving basic stability is a prerequisite for success in lean manufacturing. The famous tools of the Toyota Production System such as kanban, standardized work, replenishing material, producing to takt time etc. all rest upon a key assumption. The assumption is that process uptime, quality, employee capability, and overall operational "stability" is in place.

Watch the Webcast

When Toyota summarized its production system into a handbook in 1973 for the first time, these assumptions were true. However, in reality Toyota spent much of the 1950s and 1960s implementing many basic concepts that helped build a base for the production system to flourish.

In this Webcast Art Smalley, President of Art of Lean, Inc. and former employee of Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, will explain many of the key concepts that Toyota worked upon so diligently for many years. In many cases he argues these starting points are better for companies today in order to drive improvements. The main points he will discuss pertain to the 4M's of manufacturing -- Man, Machine, Material, & Method. For each M he will highlight three items that Toyota actually worked upon for many years starting in 1950 and moving forward.

Speakers

• Traci Purdum, Senior Editor, IndustryWeek
• Art Smalley, President, Art of Lean, Inc.
• Thomas K. Wright, Industry Principal Automotive, SAP