TPS Benchmarking Archives

Enhancing Organizational Efficiency through Supplier Process Improvement

By John Knotts - April 19th, 2024

In an increasingly interconnected business ecosystem, the performance of an organization is not solely determined by its internal processes but also by the efficiency and reliability of its suppliers. The concept of working closely wit

GA 308 | Lessons Learned at Toyota with Andy Reith

By Jessica Bush - February 27th, 2020

This week’s guest is Andy Reith. Ron and Andy discussed working at Toyota, the challenges small businesses face, and more. A MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn:

GA 298 | Defining Standardized Work with Mike Thelen

By Jessica Bush - December 19th, 2019

This week’s guest is Mike Thelen. Ron and Mike explored all things standardized work, including the components, how often it should be improved, and more. A MP3 audio version of this episode is available for download here. In thi

GA 297 | The Importance of Hansei and Revitalization with Katie Anderson

By Jessica Bush - December 12th, 2019

This week’s guest is Katie Anderson. Katie described what it’s like working with former Toyota leader Mr. Isao Yoshino, and why the practices of reflection and revitalization are so critical. A MP3 audio version of this epi

GA 264 | Repeating the Process of Learning with Dr. Jeffrey Liker

By Jessica Bush - April 25th, 2019

This week we’re sharing an incredible keynote by Dr. Jeffrey Liker that he gave at KataCon5 earlier this year. Dr. Liker shared a wealth of information regarding his background, his lean journey, and the lessons he’s learne

GA 226 | How to Practice Lean in the UAE with Dan Whittaker

By Jessica Bush - August 2nd, 2018

This week’s guest is Dan Whittaker. Dan shared some interesting stories from his time working in Formula 1, and explained what it’s like applying lean in the United Arab Emirates. An MP3 version of this episode is available

GA 180 | How to Use Total Productive Maintenance with Jeff Gregory

By Jessica Bush - September 14th, 2017

This week’s guest is Jeff Gregory, a consultant with a strong industry background. Jeff and Ron talked all about TPM, OEE, and much more. Even if you’re not in manufacturing, there’s a lot to learn in this episode. An

GA 141 | Practicing Continuous Improvement in Japan with Zuhara Chavez

By Jessica Bush - December 15th, 2016

This week’s guest is Zuhara Chavez, an Industrial Engineer and PhD student. Zuhara is currently living in Japan, researching mapping tools and other continuous improvement concepts. Ron and Zuhara discussed her work, what cont

Review of Management Lessons from Taiichi Ohno by Takehiko Harada

By Jon Miller - August 7th, 2015

I had previously read and enjoyed the Japanese version of this book by Toyota veteran Takehiko Harada. Therefore I was curious to see how its idiosyncrasies would be handled in the process of editing and presenting it to a Western aud

The Four Pillars of Built-In Quality

By Jon Miller - November 28th, 2010

The TPS house is often drawn with a triangular roof, a rectangular foundation and two rectangular columns between the foundation and roof. The space between the columns is filled with one’s choice of the systems, tools and princi

Assessing “Respect for People” on a Gemba Walk

By Jon Miller - November 14th, 2010

In a comment posted to an article about 3 things to check during a gemba walk, lean thinker and author Bob Emiliani commented: For decades the focus of gemba walks has been on operations and evaluating continuous improvement activities

Three Things to Check During a Gemba Walk

By Jon Miller - November 5th, 2010

As the teaching and implementation lean becomes more of a business there are an increasing number of 72-point surveys and 40-criteria lean maturity assessments. These certainly have value since an end-to-end customer-focused business l

Bring on the Learning Revolution!

By Jon Miller - October 2nd, 2010

My friend Ted is always spreading good ideas. This 18 minute video titled “Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!” was delivered with skill and humor, bringing home some ideas that have interesting parallels wi

Stealing the 7 Secrets of Toyota’s Business Success

By Jon Miller - September 22nd, 2010

Taizo Ishida (1888-1979) took over the role of President of Toyota from the inventor and founder Kiichiro Toyoda in the midst of labor unrest, layoffs and the threat of bankruptcy. Ishida is considered the “restorer of ToyotaR

Bridging the Knowing-Doing Gap

By Jon Miller - September 16th, 2010

One common theme from the lean tours we led here in Japan this week was that all of the organizations we visited have successfully bridged what is called the knowing-doing gap. Popularized by Stanford University professor Robert Sutto

Are People Your Greatest Asset?

By Jon Miller - August 26th, 2010

Scott contributed a comment to a recent article on how to motivate front line workers: I never liked the expression that “people are your greatest asset”. People should never be looked upon as an asset. An asset is defined

Toyota Production System and the Three Dharma Seals

By Jon Miller - August 15th, 2010

According to the Buddha there are three characteristics of existence: Impermanence Dissatisfaction Non-self Becoming deeply aware of these “Three Dharma Seals” (三法印) is said to bring about wisdom and an end to the cyc

Toyota Turns the Clock Back a Decade to Improve Quality

By Jon Miller - July 9th, 2010

What do you get when you mix 1,000 engineers, four weeks of additional product development lead time and reduced reliance on outsourced engineering by 67%? In most product development departments this would get a decision maker

Toyota to Reduce Span of Control in Engineering

By Jon Miller - June 14th, 2010

The Nikkei reported on June 11, 2010 that Toyota is bringing back front line supervisors, adding a layer of management to staff positions that has been missing since 1989. This is an admission by Toyota, the world’s greatest lean

An Up Close Look at a Toyota Assembly Line

By Jon Miller - June 10th, 2010

There is a series of six videos on the Toyota Europe website titled “Your Toyota is My Toyota”. Team members from the Burnaston, UK factory explain their roles in building quality in to Toyota vehicles. Individuals from the

Toyota Partnering with Tesla

By Jon Miller - May 22nd, 2010

There’s new hope in Fremont, California with news of the likely resurrection of NUMMI, the recently closed GM-Toyota joint venture automobile factory: Tesla’s announcement Thursday that it was teaming up with Toyota to star

The Business Complexity Accelerator at Toyota

By Jon Miller - April 1st, 2010

There was an interesting article in the Knowledge@Wharton newsletter today. Wharton management professor John Paul MacDuffie interviewed Toyota expert, author and Tokyo University Professor Takahiro Fujimoto. The piece is called Under

Checking the Plan: Toyota Way 2001

By Jon Miller - March 2nd, 2010

Interesting articles of information continue to surface as the spring cleaning progresses at the Gemba office. Today’s find was a page from an interview with Fujio Cho. As the CEO of Toyota he had summarized the the desired ways

The Wisdom within the Experience

By Jon Miller - February 28th, 2010

We enjoy the freedom of speech and a free press. The accessibility of self-publishing and distribution of news and opinions due to blogs and internet journals has removed barriers to entry of the would-be journalist and columnists. As

Kaizen Goes Kaput? Not So Fast

By Jon Miller - February 13th, 2010

In recent weeks there have been many articles purporting to put the finger on the cause for Toyota’s quality troubles. Most of them are solution-jumping and not worthy of further exposure or response. I felt compelled to address

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