Toyota, the Japanese automaker known as being the founder of Lean manufacturing, will now be leaning heavily on its production system to ride out the economic recession.
The yen has been trading high as the American economy continues to wane, with exchange rates hitting 79 yen for the dollar – down from 100 yen in 2009. This means that Toyota can't afford to offer less expensive goods abroad, as it traditionally has, which put a cramp on the company's budget. At the same time, South Korean manufacturers – which are trading with a weaker currency – have not only become more competitive in terms of price, but also in overall quality.
Now more than ever, Toyota will have to rely on Lean manufacturing to stay competitive with its rivals. The company is slated to begin expansion into new markets, where its Lean production system will be leveraged as a means of not only reducing costs but also creating better products and a sounder work environment.
“We can win against 'yendaka,' (a term to describe yen appreciation) and we must win,” Toyota's executive vice president Atsushi Niimi said at a manufacturing conference, as quoted by The Washington Post.
Toyota uses a variety of company-specific strategies to promote the elimination of waste, extending beyond tactics used by most companies, such as making assembly lines shorter. For example, Niimi shared off a time-lapse video that showed company workers completely re-assembling a line made out of Lego-like components to facilitate different jobs.
For Toyota, doing more with less has always been a core production philosophy. When the company was relatively new to the car manufacturing scene back in the 1930s, it relied on Lean manufacturing as a means of competing with companies that had more resources, such as Ford. Its current financial position has reasserted the importance of staying true to these roots.
Applying Toyota's Lean manufacturing approach to your company
While the famous Toyota Production System (TPS) was developed with automobile manufacturing in mind, that doesn't mean it can only be used with cars. Enna can help any organization implement Kaizen into its workflow to create the ultimate 5S workplace that minimizes waste and eliminates redundant processes.