Toyota Production System

It should be on the Toyota Production System, based on the material from Chapters Seven and Eight that we covered — in a way, it can simply be a synopsis of the PPT lectures that I gave on that specific topic. There are a couple of ways to approach it — you could take up the Ford and GM systems, for example, and show how the TPS solved problems that caused the former to decline in effectiveness, simply touching on key ideas from the lectures to show the difference in the American and Japanese systems. Or you could merely organize the paper around the table of key terms from the text, also embedded in the lecture for Chapter Eight. Of course, you don’t simply want a list of definitions — try to explain the ‘place’ of each idea (Kanban, Kaizen, Poka-yoke, etc.) in the production system.

FIRST LECTURE TO LISTEN TO (38 MINUTES): https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/059ri_y3D-iGgw2HwFu6hAszw#Lecture_Chapter_7_and_part_of_8

SECOND LECTURE TO LISTEN TO (18 MINUTES): https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/047e5ckhcmE2IKsLftvLr4-iw#LECTURE_CH._8_CONTINUES

ANSWER

Toyota Production System

Production is an important part of the car manufacturing industry. The Toyota production system is innovative and is one of the reasons the company has remained in the industry. The American auto industry almost collapsed during the financial crisis. Some of the reasons the auto industry almost collapsed are due to its failure to adjust to the changing times and to adapt to changes. In 2008 GM filed for bankruptcy, stating that unless it received a federal bailout, it was not able to pay its suppliers, meet its loan obligations or cover employee’s health costs. The problem with GMs production system is that they did not focus on the whole system as a whole, and thus, they were overtaken by Toyota (Lecture 7, slide 2). Toyota’s production system focuses on problems by not assuming they have a solution in advance. Unlike GM, which was not geared towards adapting to the changes, Toyota’s system is built in such a way that it is adaptable to the changing market systems.

Factors such as setup times and batches in Toyota are considered possible causes of company problems. Setup times are a fixed amount of time that is not directly related to the amount actually produced (Lecture 7, Slide 5). Setup time is thus not part of the usual processing rather, it is an interruption in the process. Setup times involve activities such as changing parts in the machine or cleaning. These are not productive in terms of the efficiency of the production. Batches refer to the pileup. Batch production is traditional manufacturing where production moves in batches. This kind of production has its advantages such as saving money on transport. Batch production is efficient for low shelf-life products. However, this is not a good method in auto production. This is because it leads to more inventory, and thus more space is taken up.

The Toyota production system is guided by philosophy. Unlike General Motors, Toyota is guided by a long-term approach that favors quality and capabilities on short-term financial goals. The processes in Toyota are also continuous and aim at matching the supply with demand and also aim at reducing the wastage of flow time and capacity (Lecture 8.4). The philosophy of Toyota is also focused on the people and the partners. People in the company are treated respectfully, and they emphasize the development of each person. They also encourage problem-solving in the company, which involves solving ongoing problems. As stated earlier, they focus on solving problems by not assuming they have a solution in advance.

Toyota is also focused on a pull and not a push system. This is a system where inventory is created where there is demand rather than creating a pileup. Their system involves the production and parts delivery instruction triggered by the consumption of parts downstream (Lecture 8, slide 2). This means that the company tries to match the supply and the demand. GM almost collapsed during the financial crisis because the company did not adapt to the changes. The production was more than the demand, and thus, this led to the company having loans and employees who have worked, and there were no profits to help pay for the loans, suppliers, and cover the employees. Toyota also focuses on solving problems as they occur. This is known as Jidoka, where if a quality issue occurs, the processes are stopped, and the operator is alerted (Lecture 8, slide 9). If GM had this system in place, it would not have experienced the quality issues it did.

References

Lecture Chapter 7 and part of 8 First 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1V-ltnmHMo

Lecture Chapter 7 and part of 8 second 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va4LvtxTQqg

LECTURE CH 8 CONTINUES NEW. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB7zu0ioXck