Toyota Case
Executive Summary
The automobile industry can be considered one of the most competitive industries that exists today. The production has to be flawless, the employees hardworking and the managers fully aware of their product. This case study discusses the Toyota production plant in Georgetown, Kentucky.
In July of 1988 Toyota Motor Manufacturing (TMM), USA began producing Toyota Camry sedans. Toyota implements the Toyota Production System (TPS) in their Georgetown plant, similar to all other production facilities. This system reduces cost by eliminating waste. Excess production consumes extra space and human resources to control the products. The two governing principles that Toyota modeled the TPS system after are Just-In-Time (JIT) production and Jidoka. JIT emphasizes the process of producing only what is needed when it is needed. Jidoka focuses on making any production problems instantly self-evident and production would cease when a problem arose. Toyota performs Jidoka by using andon cords to highlight with buzzers and lights the step with the non-compliance. Toyota uses these processes to outperform its competitors and deliver a high quality product.
The Georgetown production plant uses Kentucky Framed Seat (KFS) to supply the seat sets for the entire production taking place at the plant. KFS follows a JIT system of production. When the body shells are finished with the paint line the information about the car is sent to KFS. This information enables KFS to ship out the corresponding seat sets in the correct amount of time to synchronize when the car arrives at final assembly and the seat sets are needed to be installed.
In April of 1992 the Georgetown plant began to experience a decreasing run ratio. This ratio is calculated as the number of actual cars that were assembled to the actual amount of cars that could have been assembled with no interruptions to the assembly line. During the May 1st meeting of Lewis, DaPrile, Friesen and
The automobile industry can be considered one of the most competitive industries that exists today. The production has to be flawless, the employees hardworking and the managers fully aware of their product. This case study discusses the Toyota production plant in Georgetown, Kentucky.
In July of 1988 Toyota Motor Manufacturing (TMM), USA began producing Toyota Camry sedans. Toyota implements the Toyota Production System (TPS) in their Georgetown plant, similar to all other production facilities. This system reduces cost by eliminating waste. Excess production consumes extra space and human resources to control the products. The two governing principles that Toyota modeled the TPS system after are Just-In-Time (JIT) production and Jidoka. JIT emphasizes the process of producing only what is needed when it is needed. Jidoka focuses on making any production problems instantly self-evident and production would cease when a problem arose. Toyota performs Jidoka by using andon cords to highlight with buzzers and lights the step with the non-compliance. Toyota uses these processes to outperform its competitors and deliver a high quality product.
The Georgetown production plant uses Kentucky Framed Seat (KFS) to supply the seat sets for the entire production taking place at the plant. KFS follows a JIT system of production. When the body shells are finished with the paint line the information about the car is sent to KFS. This information enables KFS to ship out the corresponding seat sets in the correct amount of time to synchronize when the car arrives at final assembly and the seat sets are needed to be installed.
In April of 1992 the Georgetown plant began to experience a decreasing run ratio. This ratio is calculated as the number of actual cars that were assembled to the actual amount of cars that could have been assembled with no interruptions to the assembly line. During the May 1st meeting of Lewis, DaPrile, Friesen and