– Toyota’s production method that pursues thorough efficiency can be applied anywhere –
What is the Toyota Production System (TPS)?
TPS (Toyota Production Method) is so famous that no one in Japan knows about it. There are many companies that read TPS-related books, call consultants, and provide training.
TPS is a production method established 70 years ago by Daiichi Ono of Toyota Automobile Industries (now Toyota Motor Company) at the center of the crisis, when Toyota Motor Company was on the verge of bankruptcy due to low productivity and massive inventories after World War II. am.
TPS is also famous for the term 'JUST IN TIME'. JUST IN TIME emphasizes the importance of timely supply not only in production but also in logistics, meaning that we make the required quantity, when we need it, and in the quantity we need. In order for JUST IN TIME to be properly implemented, it is necessary to thoroughly reduce waste. Reducing waste in all items in the production process leads to cost reduction and helps to improve quality. Therefore, it can lead to corporate competitiveness.
7 'Waste to Eliminate' Proposed by TPS
So what is waste that TPS is talking about? Describe the 7 wastes below.
1. Waste of the process itself
Is the work process really necessary? will think
2. Waste of inventory
Inventory needs a place to be stored, so storage costs are high. However, the more dangerous thing is that if there is stock, the product will be used preferentially, so there is a possibility that the product may not be properly identified whether there is a defect.
3. Excessive production waste
It is one of the important wastes that led to the creation of TPS.
This is because Toyota Motor Company is on the verge of bankruptcy due to overproduction.
4. Waste of production manpower idle
You may not be able to participate in actual production and the waiting time may be long.
5. Waste of motion
Operations unrelated to parts assembly and processing, such as reaching out, twisting, or searching for parts while working, waste time and reduce productivity.
6. Waste of transport
If it is not delivered in a timely manner until the next process, it is wasteful.
7. Waste That Makes Defects
When a defective product is generated, it can be said that it is the most precious waste of not only the material cost, processing cost, and disposal cost invested in the defective product, but also the cost required for exchange at the supplier or compensation for damages.
“Automation” is also a system that prevents continuous production of defects. Making bad is the worst.
TPS in the future car era
In electric vehicles, the engine and surrounding parts of internal combustion engine vehicles are no longer needed, and there is a demand for parts and cutting-edge technology that only large companies can produce, which requires large equipment investment such as motors and batteries. case arises. So, can't TPS be called a textbook for production sites in the future? In conclusion, TPS is a content that can be used sufficiently in the era of future cars. The 7 wastes to eliminate don't just apply to the production floor. It can be applied to each field such as sales, logistics, and management to see results.
Electric vehicle parts also require complicated processes and have high added value. Therefore, waste that creates defects must be avoided. I know that there is a tendency in Korea to think that if a defective product is found, it is enough to exchange it for a normal product on the spot. This is probably because they think that it is beneficial to reduce the cost of inspection to ensure perfection so that defective products do not occur, instead of bearing a little more inventory for replacement of defective products. However, this idea does not hold true in Japanese business practice.
In Japan, it is managed by dividing it into in-process defects, product defects, and delivery destination defects. For this reason, there is a manual for each process operation, and the items to be checked and inspected are specified.
Japanese automakers do not select suppliers based on price alone. Stable quality is required. One way to prove the stable quality is standard work and work instructions. No matter who does the work, it must be proven that stable quality can be secured through the same inspection and confirmation with the same work, and even for standard work, it is rare to select a company that does not have work instructions as a supplier.
What is standard operation?
If you suddenly think of it as a standard task, you might think it's not simple, but you just need to analyze your daily tasks and find improvements little by little. For example, suppose you are commuting to and from work by transferring trains. commuting to and from work every day. You will find out which exit is closest to the company and how many cars you need to take to get to that exit. To minimize commuting time, if you ride in the same car every day and go to the same exit, it will take the same amount of time no matter who commutes. This is standard operation.
In this way, if you are doing the same line assembly work every day, you can improve the possible parts little by little, such as assembling these parts first to speed up the work time or to make assembly easier by placing the work tools in this direction. It includes a quality inspection process. It is possible to avoid producing defective products by arranging the inspection process immediately after the process where mistakes or defects are prone to occur. Thus, the standard work is set, and the work manual is made so that anyone who sees it can do it.
What causes TPS not to work well?
Reading specialized books on TPS and receiving guidance from consultants, I often hear that there is not much improvement. The reason is that they try to do only what is written in the book. Doing what others have said is the end of the production of the product without understanding its essence. If you understand what you want to change for what purpose and point of view, you will know what to do when parts and processes change.
Also, it is important to think that 'should not cause trouble to other departments' and 'achieve one's own process and achieve the goal' is important, but it is important to think about the essence of the problem not only with one's own process but also with the process before and after. If you only think about your own process, you may miss out on the overall waste, including the waste of transportation.
In this way, the habit of thinking about the entire process allows you to know what you are doing in the post- and post-process, to look back on whether you are causing trouble in the next process, and to think again whether the amount of work is increasing due to waste. TPS is not difficult enough to require guidance from a consultant. We need to add wisdom to each other and think about it. As a result of the improvement, if the lead time is reduced and the work is made easier, the work atmosphere will naturally improve.
"The foundation of TPS is to make someone's job easier," says Akio Toyota, president of Toyota Motor Corporation. The Toyota automatic weaving machine was created by Sakichi Toyota, who was thinking of “automation”, the originator of the Toyota Group, and wished that his mother, who was weaving, could feel a little more comfortable. If we put our heads together and experience the visible effect, even a small improvement can help someone and lead to rewarding work.
The TPS mindset can be used in any department, not just on the production floor. News such as “The lead time for manufacturing COVID-19 medical gowns has been shortened by 84% compared to the original” and “The application of TPS to vaccination” comes from the hope that medical personnel who are doing their best in the Corona crisis will be at ease. will be.
In addition, it can be used as a method to improve fitting work in restaurants, airports, and car races. I think the reason TPS is not applied only to the production site is because there are people in various places who think “I want it to be comfortable”.
MyTPS
No matter what kind of work you do, such as office work or technical work, I think there is a lot of room for improvement just by feeling that “there are such views” or “this perception leads to improvement” in things that have been taken for granted through TPS activities. First, consider whether there are “seven wastes” in your work.
For those new to TPS, decide where to put your files and stationery and label them. With that alone, you can see at a glance where to put the used items. Before leaving work, you can immediately check whether there are any unorganized files and texts. Even if you find a pair of scissors just with the vague thought of “it is in this drawer somewhere,” you may have to rush to find it, and you may not know if you put it in the drawer after using it. Are you wasting more than 10 minutes a day on “time to find things”?
If you practiced the TPS on the drawer right away, let's create a TPS for your life, that is, MyTPS, such as TPS for commuting and TPS for housework. Through this process, I think that if you always think about whether there is no waste in various situations, you can come up with a better answer than getting guidance from a consultant to reduce waste of your work.
Right now, let's analyze the work around you and make a work guide!
※ Please note that this manuscript is information prepared by an external expert and is not an official opinion of KOTRA.