A look at how the Toyota Production System works in the US

Kaizen and the Toyota Production System have revolutionized how many businesses produce goods and services. The Indianapolis Star recently explored a Toyota manufacturing plant in Indiana to see how this system worked outside of Japan.

The factory, which dates back to 1928, practices many of the principles of Lean production. Unlike Henry Ford's factory mass production line, Toyota focuses on minimizing component part use and leveraging only what is needed at any given moment. Products arrive to where they need to be at precisely the correct moment and don't sit around in warehouses unused.

“Smaller batches allow manufacturers to react quickly to customer desires without building inventory,” the news source notes. “Teamwork is everything. 'Standard Work' ensures fair workloads that are synched with the 'takt time,' or how often the task must be completed to meet customer demand.”

Everything, from production procedures to the supply of parts, is timed to perfection so that Toyota can react accordingly to changes in demand without having excess stock. In a down economy, this is precisely why the Toyota Production System and Kaizen have gained so much prominence in businesses sprawling across multiple industries.