Basic. Two words in Taiichi Ohno’s Toyota Production System are translated as “basics.” One is “Kihon 【基本】,” and the other is “Kiso...

Kaizen and Kaikaku are entirely different. In my post about “Kaizen capability,” I got some responses that “Small improvements are...

Who holds the authority to modify the production plan? It's a strange question. However, this happens daily in most factories, yet it is...

Taiichi Ohno’s “Workplace Management" includes a saying: “The morning’s orders are revised in the evening.” 【朝令暮改】 "Choureibokai.” This...

Why do we use the adjective “small” with Kaizen? This made me concerned. For example, suppose you identify a Muda that is ten seconds, or...

Genba is the most crucial place to be. TPS emphasizes the significance of Genba. At the same time, they use a term called Genti Genbutu....

Kaoru Ishikawa, a central figure in Japanese Total Quality Management (TQM), wrote an article in 1965 discussing the history of TQM in...

Standard In-process stock is one of the three elements of standardized work. It is essential to maintain the repeatability of work and...

“Visualization.” The key concept of the Toyota Production System is widely recognized. However, there are many places where something is...

How much of the Toyota Production System’s challenge to the economy of scale is accepted by the public? A few months ago, a manager...

Once in a while, we receive strange requests. “Please come and list up all the Muda.” I thought they misused some words and checked to do...

In the Toyota Production System, we categorize machines into two categories: special-purpose (or dedicated) machines and general-purpose...

Since my last post was about Hozen 【保全】(Maintenance), this is a related topic. Taiichi Ohno said, “Repair and repair are different.” 🤯...

Seiichii Nakajima, pioneer of TPM, shared his experience with Taichi Ohno. Their relationship started when Toyota was awarded the...

What do “Quality” and “Value” mean to your organization? And what is the relationship of the two? Hypothesis: the Toyota Production...

Taiichi Ohno and the Toyota Production System sometimes use “old” Japanese, which we must be careful of. One such example is the word “...

Transportation works. There are many names inside a factory, like material handlers, water spiders, forklift drivers, etc., and...

Heijyunka (Levelization) is considered the foundation of the Toyota Production System. Despite its importance, very few have challenged...

In the Toyota Production System, help is provided when Andon is pulled. “Help” is essential but equally important is how. The first key...

“Kantoku.” This word appears quite frequently in Japan. A movie director is “Eiga Kantoku.” In sports, head coach is translated as...