The Toyota Production System (TPS) has three core components: continuous improvement, respect for people, and standard work practices. Continuous improvement involves building a culture where all employees seek to improve processes. Respect for people means empowering employees and recognizing that they know their jobs best. Standard work practices completely specify all work elements to ensure consistency and quality. TPS aims to eliminate waste through just-in-time production and jidoka, or error-proofing processes. Lean operations take a customer-focused approach to optimize the entire production process and minimize waste.

1. TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM
“A Production System that is steeped in the philosophy of the complete elimination of all wastes and all
aspects of production with the philosophy of the most efficient production method.”
Toyota Motor’s Eiji Toyoda & Taiichi Ohno are given credit for the Toyota production system (TPS). Three
core components of TPS are continuous improvement, respect for people, and standard work practice.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT:
Continuous improvement under TPS means building organizational culture and instilling in its people a value
system stressing that processes can be improved-indeed.
Improvement is an integral part of every employee’s job.
This process is formalized in TPS by Kaizen, the Japanese word which means that Continuous improvement.
RESPECT FOR PEOPLE:
At Toyota, people are recruited, trained, and treated as knowledge workers. TPS engage the mental as well as
physical capacities of employees in the challenging task of improving operations.
Employees are empowered. They are empowered to make improvements. They are empowered to stop
machines and processes when quality problems exist. Empowered employees are a necessary part of TPS.
Toyota recognizes that employees know more about their jobs than anyone else.
Toyota respects employees by gibing them the opportunity to enrich both their jobs and their lives.
Shahbaz Hussain - 15-glc-608

2. TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM
STANDARD WORK PRACTICE:
Standard work practice at Toyota includes these underlying principles:
 Work is completely specified as to content, sequence, timing, and outcome.
 Internal and external customer-supplier connections are direct, specifying personnel, methods, timing, and
quantity.
 Product and service flows are to be simple and direct.
 Improvements in the system must be made in accordance with the “scientific method.” at the lowest possible level
in the organization.
 Reduced setup time
 Small-lot production
 Employee Involvement and Empowerment
 Quality at the source
TPS CONCEPT:
1) JIDOKA: Highlighting/visualization of problems.
• Detect the abnormality.
• Stop the abnormal problems.
• Fix or correct the immediate condition.
• Investigate the root cause and install a countermeasure.
2) Just-in-Time: Productivity improvement.
Produced according to what needed, when needed and how much needed.
Strategy to improve return on investment by reducing inventory and associated cost.
 Equipment maintenance
 Pull Production
 Supplier involvement
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3. LEAN OPERATIONS
 Lean production begins externally with a focus on the customer. While KIT and TPS tend to have an
internal focus.
 Understanding what the customer wants and ensuring customer input and feedback are starting points
for production.
 Identifying customer value by analyzing all the activities required to produce the product.
 Optimizing the entire process form the customer’s perspective.
BUILDING A LEAN ORGANIZATION:
 The transition to lean production is difficult. However, organization that focus on JIT are often Lean
producers.
 Lean operations adopt a philosophy of minimizing waste by continuous learning, creativity, and
teamwork. They tend to share the following attributes:
 Use JIT techniques
 Build systems that help employees produce perfect parts.
 Reduce space requirements.
 Develop partnerships with suppliers.
 Educate suppliers.
 Develop employees.
 Make jobs challenging.
 Build worker flexibility.
Shahbaz Hussain - 15-glc-608

4. LEAN OPERATIONS IN SERVICES
JIT, TPS and Lean began in factories but are now also used in services throughout the world. Lean
services are not concerned with the making of ‘hard’ products.
Lean Service is a standardizable system of service operations made up only by activities that generate
value for customers. And customers’ expectations for quality and price.
Lean principles applied to the service sector and focused on employees, whether in training or in increase
of their autonomy (empowerment). Lean Service also focuses on the customer.
According to Silvestro et al. (1992) there are three different categories in service sector.
1.Professional Service with high focus on people, contact time and process, as an example of this
category is a corporate bank.
2.Service Shops as hotel or rental service with medium focus on customization and front office and back
office.
3.Mass Service with low attention to equipment and customization, a great example is the transportation
service.
Shahbaz Hussain - 15-glc-608