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Toyota Production System
We have a worldwide reputation for the way we work, based on lean-thinking, derived from the principles established in the Toyota Production System (TPS). Our ‘True North’ vision (our ultimate goal) is zero muda – which means zero waste. This is based on four key elements: respect and security for people; zero defects; one-piece flow on demand (driven by our customers) and 100% value added.
How TPS benefits your operation
- Quality assurance
- On-time delivery
- Environmentally friendly
- Health & safety
Working with TPS principles allows us to produce high-quality products, built to order and delivered to you on time. Our production respects the environment, which includes recycling our products at the end of their lifetime. Continuous measurement and improvement means continually improving products, reflected by a 70% reduction in warranty claims over the past 10 years. We are also committed to creating a safe workplace, both for employees and our customers.
How TPS guarantees quality trucks
- Jidoka: making problems visible
- Kaizen: continuous improvement
- 100% value-added
All of our trucks are produced according to the Toyota Production System, with over 95% of our European product sales manufactured in our own factories in Sweden, France and Italy. This means they all benefit from the highest levels of quality assurance based on just-in-time planning, combined with jidoka – a method we use to ensure that abnormalities are immediately detected and rectified.
Take a look at the journey that our trucks take through our factories, with 360º views.
The origins and culture of Toyota Production System
The Toyota Production System was developed by Toyota in the 1950's in response to a lack of financial resources post-war, combined with the ambition to become the world leader in car manufacturing. However, the origins of TPS started much earlier.
The very start of the story can be traced back to the 1920's, with the concept of Jidoka, which was originally developed by Toyota's founder, Sakichi Toyoda, as 'intelligent automation', and first used on automatic looming machines to improve productivity as well as ensuring quality, by automatically detecting abnormalities.
In the 1930s the concept of 'Just-in-Time', was invented by Kiichiro Toyoda as part of his efforts to create an efficient way of manufacturing Toyota cars, when resources were scarce, and waste could not be afforded. Just-in-time depends on getting exactly the right goods (components) to exactly the right place at the right time.
Jidoka and Just-in-time formed the two pillars of the Toyota Production System which was developed by Taichi Ohno and has since been improved over many decades. TPS was seen as the differentiator that enabled Toyota to recover more quickly from the 1970's oil crisis, compared to other auto-makers. As a result, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology undertook a research study, which resulted in the publication of a book called 'The Machine that Changed the World', which recognised TPS as the differentiator and the true source of lean-thinking.
TPS aims to generate the best environment where people can promote ideas and maximize human values, and although today Toyota is established as one of the most important manufacturers in the world, this approach is still the driving force behind our culture and is the company's greatest asset.
TPS is a recognized worldwide as a methodology and mindset that can be applied not only in manufacturing but across all processes and functions.
The elimination of Muda (Waste) and the ambition to add value for customers at every stage of the process is the foundation for the way we work. This translates to a kaizen mentality, focused on continuous improvement and the effort for daily job enhancement.