Lean Concepts in Business: The Toyota Way

Name: Lean Concepts in Business: The Toyota Way
Author: Becky Starnes

Learn how a culture of continuous process improvement creates market leaders

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Course: On-Demand

What is Lean process improvement? James Womack and Daniel Jones coined the term "Lean Thinking" in their book by the same name. They wrote, "Lean Thinking provides a way to do more and more with less and less, while coming closer and closer to providing customers with exactly what they want." During a presentation made to government officials in New Hampshire, Dr. Womack defined Lean as, "creating more value with less waste, which includes time, human effort, capital, space, defects, and rework." Dr. Womack listed five principles of Lean Thinking. Principle number one: define value from the customer perspective. Ask yourself, can you provide the customer what he wants, when he needs it, and at a price he will pay? Principle number two: identifying the value stream for each product. Try using the customer's preferences as the starting point. Map all your organizational activities currently used to create the product. Identify activities that create value and those that do not. Eliminate the activities that do not create value, because they are considered as waste. Principle number three: making value flow without interruption. Try to create a new process flow, mapping the activities used to create the product after eliminating the waste found when applying principle number two. Principle number four: letting the customer pull value from the producer. Allow the customer to tell you when the product is needed. Schedule activities so supplies are not provided until asked for. Principle number five: strive for perfection continuously. Continuously applying principles one, two, three, and four leads to an organizational culture of creating quality. The main goal of these principles is to establish a perfect value stream by continuously identifying and eliminating activities that are considered waste while focusing on activities that create value. Organizations apply the Lean principles to achieve the goals of improving effectiveness, efficiency, and agility through the elimination of waste. To summarize, Lean is a management practice used to achieve organizational objectives through the establishment of a culture that applies the use of quality management tools and techniques to eliminate waste and seek continuous improvement. The practice of Lean manufacturing emerged from the Toyota Production System, TPS. The next lesson explores the origin, evolution, and elements of TPS.

Beginner Provider : Becky Starnes 5 Lessons · 13m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

The Toyota Motor Corporation rose to its position as a global market leader in automobiles with its groundbreaking and innovative method of continuous process improvement that became known as The Toyota Way. Continuous process improvement is an organizational culture that leads to more efficient daily operations which increase profit and reduce expenses. In this course you’ll learn the concepts of lean process improvement in business that are the basis of The Toyota Way and are used today by leading manufacturers worldwide. These practices include just-in-time manufacturing, waste elimination, and continuous flow. Upon completing this course, you’ll understand the seven stages of the Lean implementation model used by manufacturers and service providers, as well as government agencies.

What You'll Learn

Discover how continuous process improvement was developed and became known as The Toyota Way
Learn process improvement practices used globally, including just-in-time manufacturing, waste elimination, and continuous flow
Identify the seven stages of the Lean process implementation model
Understand the models used to ensure continuous lean improvement
Examine the categories of waste and the Toyota Production System House

Key Takeaways

Toyota became a global market leader in automobiles through its innovative method of continuous process improvement known as The Toyota Way.
Continuous process improvement is an organizational culture that leads to more efficient daily operations, increasing profit and reducing expenses.
Lean practices central to The Toyota Way include just-in-time manufacturing, waste elimination, and continuous flow.
The Lean implementation model consists of seven stages used by manufacturers, service providers, and government agencies.
The lean concepts taught are used today by leading manufacturers worldwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn the concepts of lean process improvement in business that form the basis of The Toyota Way, including just-in-time manufacturing, waste elimination, and continuous flow. You will also understand the seven stages of the Lean implementation model and the models used to ensure continuous lean improvement.

What is The Toyota Way?

The Toyota Way is the groundbreaking and innovative method of continuous process improvement that helped Toyota Motor Corporation rise to its position as a global market leader in automobiles. Continuous process improvement is an organizational culture that leads to more efficient daily operations, increasing profit and reducing expenses.

Who uses the Lean implementation model covered in this course?

The seven-stage Lean implementation model is used by manufacturers and service providers, as well as government agencies. The lean concepts taught are also used today by leading manufacturers worldwide.

What topics do the lessons cover?

The lessons cover What is Lean?, The Toyota Production System and the Toyota Way, Categories of Waste, The Toyota Production System House, and A Lean Implementation Model.

What skills does this course help build?

This course supports skills in Lean Enterprise, Lean Manufacturing, Lean Methodologies, the Toyota Production System, and Lean Management Certification.