These techniques are not the definition of TPS, rather, they are a result of TPS. It also enables more frequent changeovers and shorter production runs to better match production to customer demand.Īlthough techniques such as Poka Yoke, Kanban, and SMED are concrete, well understood techniques to minimize waste and eliminate errors, they are also components of the overall TPS. This allows machines to run for longer, increasing valuable production time. By eliminating unnecessary changeover steps and streamlining those that are needed, changeover times can be reduced to less than 10 minutes. SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) techniques are used to minimize time lost to production changeovers. Wasted time typically refers to setup and die change applications. By building as a direct result of customer activity, waste in the form of excess inventory is minimized or eliminated. The Kanban SystemĪs product is sold to the end customer, a Kanban system pulls replacement product through the system. As defective product is identified, the root cause of how the product was made defective is determined, and then a poka yoke is created to ensure that cause cannot occur again. Poka Yoke, or error proofing, is a technique to eliminate the waste of defective product by not producing it in the first place. Defects: Rework, repair, or waste in its simplest form.Unnecessary/excess motion: Any movement by people or equipment that does not add value.Unnecessary inventory: Exceeding one-piece flow.Inappropriate processing: Operations that add no value from the customer's perspective.Transporting: Unnecessary transport of parts or materials.Waiting: Idle time that could be used productively.Overproduction: Producing more than, faster than, or sooner than is required.Tools to eliminate waste have evolved around the seven most common areas of waste. The Toyota Production System further defines waste as activities that consume time, resources, and/or space but do not add value. Once waste (“muda” in Japanese) has been identified, it can then be eliminated. Luckily, TPS has addressed this issue by defining value as an item or feature for which a customer is willing to pay. The Toyota Production System forces companies to ask, “Would someone pay for this?” If the answer is no, then it's waste.ĭefining value is a difficult task for most companies. No organization likes waste however, it is difficult to eliminate waste if it has not been precisely and accurately identified. When this definition of value is implemented, it enables companies using TPS to have an exceedingly clear vision when analyzing an activity or process. TPS has addressed this issue with a very elegant solution: Value is an item or feature for which a customer is willing to pay. Perhaps the true brilliance in TPS is not the tools and techniques in existence, but the underlying system that allows for new techniques to be understood and created.ĭefining value can be one of the most difficult tasks a company undertakes. However, TPS is not a static system rather, it allows for continued change and improvement. The tools used to identify and minimize non-value adding activities are the primary components of TPS. The goal of companies using TPS is to provide goods in the exact quantity, with the exact quality, at the exact time the customer wants them. The first documented version of TPS was a paper presented in August 1977, and it has since been codified in many books. Ohno was the Vice President of manufacturing for Toyota and the driving force behind the creation of Toyota Production Systems. Taiichi Ohno is generally credited as being the father of TPS. In this system all activities relating to the manufacturing process are classified as value or waste. By defining and understanding value, TPS has evolved to help companies maximize value. The revolutionary ideas and concepts pioneered at Toyota have been used in many other organizations and industries throughout the world. TPS is a system that was initially developed to account for the specific issues facing one company in post-war Japan, a period of extremely limited resources. The goal of TPS is to maximize value by eliminating waste. In the most simplistic definition of TPS, all manufacturing activities are divided into two groups: Adding value or creating waste. Synonymous with Lean Manufacturing and Lean Production, the Toyota Production System is a manufacturing methodology developed over many years by Toyota of Japan.
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