Lean Manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing Principles

What Keever learned from benchmarking trip to Toyota

Benchmarking, being a decision-making technique, can go a long way in making an organization gain competitive advantage over competitors. This is significant because benchmarking ensures sharing of information in an organization by simplifying operations and performance. Benchmarking can help an organization become efficient through various methods. However, the whole process does come with its challenges. During his trip to Toyota Motor Manufacturing, TMM, Keever learned many valuable lessons.

One of the lessons Keever learned is that TMM embraces delivery performance analysis as one measure of determining performance. For instance, the company makes an attempts each month to reduce the number of Kanbans reducing in-processes of inventories while increasing the inventory cycles. In this case, lead time for piling inventories is reduced as the deliverables reach their respective target is assessed. Using Kanbans increases efficiency leading to a decrease in portfolio levels by the company.

Also, Keever learned that TMM employs technologies in most of their processes.

TMM employs technology right from controlling the flow of materials, production operations to assembly of parts. Technologies such as kanbans, computerized board, visual control and master schedule help the company to execute its operations efficiently.

Similarly, Keever learned that, in operations at TMM, quality is imperative. TMM values quality as a strategic aspect in the organization. TMM views that proper management of quality ensures that the organization is able to achieve its long term goals without having worry about losing their share of the market. For example, TMM workers voluntarily belong to quality improvement teams. These teams have been important in providing solutions, suggestions and feedback in regard to quality of the processes. Also, quality teams played a key role when the Just in...