Toyota Production System, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The research paper reviewed the manner by which TPS came to be applied at Toyota Motors. In addition, there was an exploration of the reasons why TPS has been successful at Toyota motors.  Furthermore, there real world examples of organization that apply XPS were viewed and the reasons that these organizations acted, avoided, adopted and adapted the TPS system was reviewed.  Finally, an organization was invented called Orange County Cherries and Blueberries.  The adoption of a TPS system is important to the organizations future wellbeing.  The perspectives toward the seasonal employees of the Orange County Cherries and Blueberries organization were reviewed.

Toyota Production System

1.

The history of the Toyota Motors Company initiated when its founder, Sakiichi Toyoda became engaged in the manufacture of textiles.  In 1902, the Toyoda Group had been started.  After a successful two decades in the textile manufacturing business, Toyoda derived an innovation for a textile loom.  The patent to the innovation for the textile loom was marketed in order to create the basis of venture capital for the new enterprise.  The new enterprise that Toyoda entered was automobiles.  The initial Toyotas were fabricated in 1936.  The price of the AA, the name given to the Toyota model was more than ¥399 cheaper than the automobiles produced by Ford or GM (Ohno, 1988; Dyer & Nobeoka, 2012).

In the beginning of the decade of the 1960s, the United States began to adopt a protectionist policy with regards to vehicles manufactured in Japan.  As an outcome of the protectionist policies implemented by the United States, The Toyota group began fabricating its automobiles in the United States.  Subsequent to the 1973 oil embargo, many Americans began looking toward automobiles that had better gas mileage.  Toyota had been able to be the recipient of the Initial Japanese Quality Control Award in the beginning of the 1980s.  In 1984, Toyota entered into a partnership with General Motors which had been designated as the New United Motor Manufacturers (Ohno, 1988; Dyer & Nobeoka, 2012).

The partnership between Toyota and General Motors began to operate a fabrication plant located in Freemont, Ca.  In the 1990s, Toyota began to diversify its product line by aggregating more luxurious and larger vehicles to its production line.  As a result of these implementations, Toyota Motors reached the position of number one in the quantity of global vehicle sales during 2008.  This success was derived from the Toyota Yaris and the Toyota Prius. Toyota motors reached a milestone of having manufactured 200 million automobiles in July 2012 (Ohno, 1988; Fujimoto, 2012).

The Toyota producing systems and its conceptual foundations are the reason for Toyota becoming one of the most effective automobile manufacturers in the world.  All of the ideas which encompass the Toyota Producing System have been a significant enabler for Toyota´s rise to greatness.  The Just in Time inventory system facilitates Toyota´s cost reduction with regards to inventory related expenses, stores and warehousing. The Kanban systems enabled the transport of inventory between the distinct departments in the production line and assured the production of the correct amounts of inventory at the correct time.  In addition, the conceptual frameworks of Kaizen and Jidoka guaranteed that elevated indexes of quality were sustained in the production process (Ohno, 1988; Fujimoto, 2012).

Jidoka has been proven to provide an advantage in the context of quality.  Jidoka has demonstrated that when applied in conjunction with other human resource constructs, the outcome was an elevated level of morale among the employees, who appreciated their value at Toyota.  The flexibility of the systems that were instilled by the organizations leading Vice President, Taiichi Ohno.  Taiichi Ohno instilled an organizational culture which caused the Toyota production system to optimize it resources for increased quality and production (Ohno, 1988; Fujimoto, 2012).

Taiichi Ohno has been acknowledged as the founding father of the Toyota Production System.  Taiichi developed and refined the TPS in order to make it conceptually into a practical and formal system. Ohno is accountable for the education of a vast number of Toyota´s engineers in the correct manner of applying and optimizing the TPS.  Ohno believed in the strength of the employees.  This was the causal attribute for his valuing qualities which included respects and loyalty.  Ohno was the designer of the lifetime employment systems at Toyota. This concepts caused the employees to achieve a higher level of commitment within the Toyota organization (Ohno, 1988; Fujimoto, 2012).

Ohno started the Toyota tradition of supervisors being attired in the identical types of uniforms as the employees.  Ohno perceived that the organizational structure at Toyota should be non-hierarchical and flat. In addition, Ohno observed that the efficiency of the manufacturing procedures was reliant on the accessibility to raw materials.  Ohno practiced the scientific methods of observation in the discovery and resolution of a number of challenges that become manifest at Toyota.  After the end of Ohno´s tenure as an administrator at Toyota, many of the engineers would resolve problems by inquiring: What would Ohno say or how would Ohno approach this problem (Ohno, 1988; Fujimoto, 2012)?

2.

TPS

The Toyota production system was successful due to its components. One of the components of the TPS is the JIT.  The JIT (Just in Time) perspective is an approach which attempts to have an optimal return on investment by decreasing the inventory maintained during the manufacturing processes. The reduction of inventory is associated with diminishing carrying expenses. The four conceptual guidelines that have been applied in the TPS are JIT, Kanban, Kaizen and Jidoka.  In the application of these four elements, the TPS can effectively and rapidly manufacture vehicles which have an anticipated level of quality, one by one on a production line.  In addition, the application of TPS enables the organization to fulfill the demanding requirements of the clients (Ohno, 1988; Hall, 2004).

JIT

The primary tenet of the JIT production method is to fabricate only the required products during the appropriate time.  The primary goal of the JIT manufacturing process is to avoid waste by the purveyance or fabrication of products when required.  The implementation of the JIT approach enabled Toyota do decrease the expenses which had been associated with maintaining stores and warehouses.  The goal of the application of JIT in the Toyota production system was to streamline the process by the elimination and avoidance of the peaks in production that could subsequently cause inventory issues.  One of the beliefs that had been held by Ohno was that a continuous and seamless production process could facilitate the floating to the surface of the quality and production challenges (Ohno, 1988; Hall, 2004).

Ohno believed that as these challenges appeared in a continuous and seamless system, they could be calibrated and corrected.  In the JIT production approach, the design initiated with the clients demands.  JIT is founded on the pulling of the workflow of the production line.   The pulling approach to manufacturing is the opposite of the pushing perspective of manufacturing.  In the pushing manufacturing perspective, there would always be excess inventory (Ohno, 1988; Hall, 2004).

In the optimal scenario, JIT had been implemented in the entire Toyota Motors manufacturing establishment, eliminating the requirement for warehousing supplies.  Notwithstanding, in manufacturing facilities like the Toyota plants, which have the requisite of thousands of components in order to create one automobile, the achievement of JIT during all of the manufacturing processes would be quite challenging.  The elevated levels of intricacy of the system would cause challenges for the previous system to precisely forecast the amount of supplies need by the following manufacturing processes.  In order to overcome this challenge, the Kanban matrix was produced (Ohno, 1988; Hall, 2004).

Kanban

One of the structural pillars of JIT is Kanban.  The application of the Kanban system in the JIT endeavors assisted Toyota in attaining an elevated level of quality in its outsourcing. Kanban is translated to the word Blackboard in English.  Kanban is an implementation that efficiently administrates the production amounts in order.  In the Kanban system, the employeeswho were engaged in the manufacturing process would inscribe the types of units and the amounts on a Kanban card.  Another employee would be conveyed the Kanban andsubtracted the quantity that had been required. This matrix was composed of a set number of containers where each had been maintaining a set number of components.  All of the containers had collections of Kanban which were affixed.  The Kanban were composed of a production Kanban and a withdrawal Kanban (Ohno, 1988; Hall, 2004).

The Kanban marked withdrawals provided details with regards to the amount and the category of products from which the user would withdraw.  The production Kanban provided the identical information with regards to the components that should be manufactured by the preceding process.  In this manner, all of the production functions are linked to each other by means of the Kanban.  The Kanban process demonstrated the maximum quantity of products that could be applied in order to maintain production coherence in the system.  The Kanban had been transformed during the past decade into an implement that guaranteed the manufacture of the precise amounts of units at the appropriate time (Ohno, 1988; Fujimoto, 2012).

Kaizen

Kaizen is another important consideration of the TPS.  Kaizen is translated as always improving. Kaizen is needed in order to create unified efforts on behalf of the employees with regards to minimizing wastes.  Kaizen had been a continuous procedure, it was not intermittent as it had been in other organizations.  The Kaizen activity would increase the production and safety of the manufacturing line. In the Kaizen process, the employees and supervisors had to be attentive to as many issues and possible and resolve the issues on the spot.  In addition, the employees and the supervisors were always search for methods to improve the production flow, even when things had been operating under optimal circumstances.  Kaizen requires a substantial quantity of observation and the modifications that take place as a result are minimal and incremental (Ohno, 1988; Fujimoto, 2012).

In the Kaizen perspective, the supervisors were motivated to contribute at least one idea daily.  The employees and supervisors were encouraged to make the inquiry with regards to why at least five times. The repetition of the word why had been performed at least five time in order to avoid the reoccurrence of the problem.  The point of attention of the Kaizen was not only to find a resolution to a production problem, there had to be a comprehensive undertaking of the challenge in order to understand the alternatives (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

There had been another feature of the Kaizen that caused the TPS to be successful at Toyota Motors.  This perspective was to error proof the production line.  The error proofing activity had been performed in order to ensure that the manufacturing process flowed during each step.  The kaizen was also applied as an assembly line administrator.  Cameras were frequently implemented and filming had been conducted in order to encounter the most effective solution or the examination of points that incurred minute amounts of waste (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

As a result of the comprehensive quality of the Kaizen activities, the commitment and support always had been accessible from the administrators to enhance the production line performance.  There have been a number of analysts who asserted that the employees of the Toyota motors group had been educated in order to find room for improvement in each of the potential enhancements-.  There are a number of proponents who perceive that the application of Kaizen is the causal attribute behind Toyota´s success (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

Jidoka

The human resource components performed a substantial contribution in the TPS. Toyota conducted every potential endeavor in order to encourage the employees’´ resilience, cohesion and empowerment.  This endeavor could be perceived as the majority of the employees at Toyota had been cross educated and had the capacity of being shifted between distinct manufacturing lines.  The resilience of the production procedures which is delineated as Shijinka gave Toyota a competitive advantage.  This was attributed to the premise that the organization could adapt to changing demands and there was no requisite to contract new employees when the demand for a particular product declined.  Jidoka came to demonstrate Toyota´s dedication to empowering its employees (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

Jidoka became a philosophy that encouraged and enabled employees to halt the production process when abnormal circumstances were encountered in the production line.  The employees who worked on the production line were in the optimal position to perceive errors and communicate the errors to a supervisor.  The employees were the only individuals who could actually see the outcome of the errors which had also been overseen by other employees as a causal attribute of the Kaizen ideal.  In accordance with the Shijinka ideal, the changing of positions from one employee to another became feasible within the mass manufacturing lines (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

In addition, the employee had the option of selecting in which of the lines that they wanted to participate.  The softer characteristics of the TPS, which was also delineated as the concern for the well-being of the employees was a novel trend that had never been implemented at Toyota.  This occurred when Taiichi Ohno took the administration of the Toyota motors organization.  The TPS demonstrated concern for the safety of the employees and the enhancement of the employees´ authority and responsibility.  These qualities caused the employees to become more productive and concerned with the TPS.  The production aspect was a consistent objective, however, the safety of the employees in exchange for enhanced productivity was not accepted in the TPS (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

The Jidoka was a rope applied for the stopping of a production line.  The Jidoka was applied with the objective of improving the product and learning.  The improvement and learning process occurred without being disrespected by coworkers while enhancing the production indexes and employee morale.  Jidoka believed that the employee operated the machine, not the machine operating the employee.  Jidoka demonstrated that the employee was capable of independent thought and not just an element in a production line.  The application of TPS enabled Ohno to revolutionize the manner by which factory line workers were perceived (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

Considering that the education and the production of human resources was essential in the TPS, the organization made substantial investments in facilitating each of the employees to reach their full potential. Notwithstanding the organizational need and objective for each of the candidates, the Toyota organization only permitted the employee to being working when they perceived that they were thoroughly comfortable and confident with the responsibilities of their tasks.  In alignment with the ideals of human resources, the relationship between Toyota and the supply chain elements were meticulously maintained. Toyota has a specific requisite for the delivery of the supplies and services of members of its supply chain.  The comprehension of the quality of urgency on the part of the supply chain members could have been achieved by imposition and force. Instead the TPS instilled a perception of collaboration and mutual assistance.  Finally, loyalty and a lifetime contract provided the employees with a perception of belonging in the organization.  The mentality of the TPS extended from Ohno to the most conventional technician (Ohno, 1988; Stecke et al., 2012).

3.

There are three organizations that were explored with regards to the reasons that the TPS was not applicable in their organization.  These organizations were Nissan Motors, Volvo Motors and Mercedes- Benz Group.  In each of the cases the theoretical contributions were reviewed.  It had been found that there were two dimensions required for the application of a multiple plant enhancement program.  The first dimension was to what context the organization should comply with the global criteria.  The second was to what extend should the organization cause the new standards to become institutionalized.  A framework was recommended for the manner that these organizations may adapt to the TPS system.  The model is demonstrated in the Appendix 1 (Fujimoto, 2012; Netlund & Aspelund, 2014).

The guidelines recommend that the organizations act, avoid, adapt or adopt the multiple plant enhancement program, in addition to its components and procedures.  The adopting infers that the organization applies the processes suggested by the global XPS program comprehensively.  The rationale which supports the reaction is supplied by the best practice model of operations perspectives.  This perspective debates that some of the final processes have an applicability that is universal.  The practices may be applied by Nissan Motors, Volvo Motors or the Mercedes – Benz group(Fujimoto, 2012; Netlund & Aspelund, 2014). .

The adaptation takes place when the organization changes the process in order to acquire a better suitability with the regional contingencies.  The perspective is reinforced by contingency theory.  The third reaction, which is acting when the organization pretends to have implemented the XPS, when in reality the implementation is only superficial.  The institutional theory states that this takes place due to the rationalization of the behavior due to pressure that may be exerted from the corporate headquarters or from the market forces in order to place the practice into effect.  There are some instances where the organizations select to avoid the program and continue with their traditional method of conducting their operations. The research has demonstrated that XPS are extremely popular in a variety of industries.  The quality of popularity is an effective test of benefit.  Notwithstanding, as the institutional theory infers, organizations may apply the XPS for causal attributes which are other than the enhancement of their financial performance.  There is also a strategic logic for the implementation of the XPS(Fujimoto, 2012; Netlund & Aspelund, 2014).

4.

The organization that was invented is called Orange County Cherries and Blueberries.  The function of Orange County Cherries and Blueberries is to administrate ranches which specialize in the cultivation of cherries and blueberries.  The ranches are operationally year round, however, the peak season is usually from July to October.  The harvesting of the cherries and the blueberries is a tedious endeavor.  Everyone likes the outcome of the work, however there are very few workers who wish to participate in the harvesting activities.  The reason that few workers engage in the activities of harvesting the cherries and blueberries is that the work is seasonal.  This implies that the workers only harvest during the months from July to October.

It is important that our organization adopt a TPS program.  The workers who arrive to perform the work arrive due to the fact that they know that they will be treated fairly.  In addition, it is very import ant that the harvesting activities be conducted with the optimal efficiency due to the perishable aspect of the cherries and the blueberries.  The main customer who is interested in the cherries and the blueberries is an organization called Dale Fruit.  Dale Fruit is a large scale cannery and manufacturer of preserves.  The preserves are used for marmalade and pastry filling.

In addition, there are certain amounts of cherries and blueberries that were market directly to the public.  This sector has been proven to be extremely profitable in the event that the retail customers can receive the fruit in a fresh condition.  The TPS program that we have decided to adopt in our organization has the following components.  Each of the workers are paid ten percent over the state´s minimum wage.  In the state of New York, the minimum wage is $8. 75 per hour.  The majority of our competitors and the cannery operation believe that we are foolish to offer above minimum wages to migrant workers who harvest cherries and fruits.  However, in providing this level of payment, the employees usually return.  In having the same employees performing the harvesting function saves time in training and costs due to injuries.

Furthermore, we offer the employees the opportunity to be part of a labor union.  Since the work is seasonal there is not too much more that Orange County Cherries and Blueberries can offer to the seasonal workers. The opportunity of being in the labor union infers that if Orange County cherries and Blueberries expands into producing preserves and canning the fruit, the workers who are in the labor union will be given the first opportunity to work. Finally, if the workers consent to having their union dues subtracted from their gross pay during the months of July to October, they become eligible for family health insurance throughout the year.

References

Dyer, J., & Nobeoka, K. (2002). Creating and managing a high performance knowledge-sharing network: the Toyota case. MIT.

Fujimoto, T. (2012). The Evolution of Production Systems. Annals of Business Administrative Science, 11(0), 25-44.

Hall, R. (2004). Lean and the Toyota production system. Target, 20(3), 22-7.

Netland, T., & Aspelund, A. (2014). Multi-plant improvement programmes: a literature review and research agenda.International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 34(3), 390-418.

Ohno, T. (1988). Toyota Production System: Beyond Large Scale Production. New York, NY: Productivity Press.

Stecke, K. E., Yin, Y., Kaku, I., & Murase, Y. (2012). Seru: the organizational extension of JIT for a super-talent factory. International Journal of Strategic Decision Sciences (IJSDS), 3(1), 106-119.

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