Industrial Engineering - Foundation of Toyota Production System

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Introduction to Modern Industrial Engineering.  #FREE #Download.

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Lesson 41 of   Industrial Engineering ONLINE Course

Case Study 41 - 3D Printing Multiple Numbers as a Vertical Stack - Significant Productivity Improvement

Lesson 40 - Taiichi Ohno on Industrial Engineering. Toyota style Industrial Engineering - Waste Elimination 

Lesson 42 - Industrial Engineering - Productivity Improvement - New Framework = Philosophy - Principles - Functions - Focus Areas

Video Presentation by Prof. N.Rao

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUDpFpNKuKQ

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Taiichi Ohno repeats what Taylor said. Improve every element of an operation/process for total cost reduction.

Improve machining processes,  install autonomous systems, improve tools,  rearrange machines,  improve  transportation methods. Examine available resources and  the materials at hand for manufacturing. optimize their use.

Prevent the recurrence of defective products, operational mistakes, and accidents, and by incorporate  workers' ideas."  

Toyota Industrial Engineering that is Ohno's Industrial Engineering is improving every element of the process and reducing every delay, defect and machine breakdown (Naryana Rao)

Toyota style Industrial Engineering - Ohno

"We have eliminated waste by examining available resources, rearranging machines, improving machining processes, installing autonomous systems, improving tools, analyzing transportation methods and optimizing the materials at hand for manufacturing. High production efficiency has also been maintained by preventing the recurrence of defective products, operational mistakes, and accidents, and by incorporating workers' ideas." Taiichi Ohno (P. 21)

Source: Taiichi Ohno, Toyota Production System: Beyond Large Scale Production, pp. 21-22.

Taiichi Ohno on Industrial Engineering. Toyota style Industrial Engineering - Waste Elimination
https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/11/taiichi-ohno-on-industrial-engineering.html

Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering (TPS IE) Part 1

Toyota Production System - Main Objectives

Elimination of Waste
Low Inventory
Low Order to Delivery Period using low cycle time.

Toyota Production System - Tools or Techniques

SMED
Poka Yoke

Now popular

TIE - Total Industrial Engineering.
TQM – Zero defects
TPM – High OEE
TPMgmt – Annual Planned Cost Reduction

Shigeo Shingo

A Study of Toyota Production System from an Industrial Engineering Viewpoint by Shigeo Shingo

Book published by Productivity Press

Two Pillars of TPS - Jidoka - JIT

Toyota Production System

A production system based on the philosophy of achieving the complete elimination of all waste in pursuit of the most efficient methods.

Toyota Motor Corporation's vehicle production system is a way of making things that is sometimes referred to as a "lean manufacturing system," or a "Just-in-Time (JIT) system," and has come to be well known and studied worldwide.

This production control system was established based on many years of continuous improvements, with the objective of making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as swiftly as possible. The Toyota Production System (TPS) was established based on two concepts: "jidoka" (which can be loosely translated as "automation with a human touch"), as when a problem occurs, the equipment stops immediately, preventing defective products from being produced; and the "Just-in-Time" concept, in which each process produces only what is needed for the next process in a continuous flow.

Based on the basic philosophies of jidoka and Just-in-Time, TPS can efficiently and quickly produce vehicles of sound quality, one at a time, that fully satisfy customer requirements.

https://global.toyota/en/company/vision-and-philosophy/production-system/

Shigeo Shingo said
80% of the TPS is waste elimination in facilities, processes and inventory, that is industrial engineering (facilities and processes improvement, Jidoka)),
15% - production management (production batch quantities planning, JIT material and production planning) and
5% - kanban (sign board) communications

What is Industrial Engineering?

Industrial Engineering is eliminating Muda, Muri and Mura (Japanese explanation).

IE is developing science that explains productivity (Productivity Science development)

IE is improving technical processes  for cost reduction (Machines and Men) (Fundamental - Productivity Engineering).

IE is improving management processes of planning, organizing, resourcing, executing (accepting and releasing orders, leading, directing, communicating) and controlling (associated activity - Productivity Management).

IE is improving business processes (Augmented).

For some more details visit:  Functions of Industrial Engineering



In Preface to the Japanese Edition

Shigeo Shingo had written that management consultants were not allowed to disclose any confidential or proprietary information. Taiichi Ohno authored two books describing Toyota Production System (TPS).  That allowed Shigeo Shingo, to use the published material as the basis to explain industrial engineering principles behind TPS.

Shigeo had as his objectives in writing the book:

1. Explaining the principles of the Toyota Production System based on Industrial Engineering Theory.
2. Explanation of the system of practicing these principles.
3. Description of the practical application of the methods following these principles.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Production is a network of processes and operations.
Process – transforming material into product is accomplished through a series of operations.
Process – flow of material in time and space.
Process analysis examines the flow of material or product.

In an operation a transformation occurs.
Process analysis questions whether that transformation is required.

Operation Analysis
Operation analysis examines the work performed on products by workers, machines and tools.
Process analysis, operation analysis, motion study and time study form part of methods efficiency engineering.
Process analysis and operation analysis are engineering activities specific to each branch of engineering.
http://nraoiekc.blogspot.in/2012/04/method-study-methods-efficiency.html

Shingo wrote "When we look at operations, we see the work performed to accomplish the transformation of the material - the interaction and flow of equipment and operators in time and space."

I keep insisting that after a process chart is made, for each operation in the process chart, the machine effort and human effort are to be recorded in detail. Motion study, provides two handed operator chart for recording work of every operator involved. For machine effort, for each machine a machine effort sheet has to be prepared to improve machine work.

Chapter 2 Improving Process

Improve process before improving individual operations.
Process is flow of material through operations.

Process Chart - Gilbreth

Processing operation
Inspection operation
Transport operation
Storage operation – Temporary, Permanent (Delay operation)

Process Improvement
Process can be improved in two ways.
The first improves the product itself through design efficiency engineering (value engineering, design for manufacture, design for assembly, and design optimization techniques).
The second improves manufacturing method through methods efficiency engineering, motion studies and production optimization and variability reduction methods.

ECR Method of Process Improvement

Eliminate the operation – sometimes it is found to be not necessary or sometimes it is due to improvement of earlier operation.
Combine operations with earlier one or latter one.
Rearrange the sequence of operations

Processing Operations Analysis

Examples in the book
Manufacturing operations can be improved by alternatives related to proper melting or forging temperatures, cutting speeds or tool selection.
Examples related to vacuum molding, plating and plastic resin drying are given in the book.
Eliminating Flashing in Castings (Die)
Flashing in die castings occurs due to escape of air.
Removing the air in mould with a vacuum pump eliminated flashing.
Removing Foam in High-Speed Plating
Spraying or showering the surface to be painted resulted in a 75% reduction.
Drying Plastic Resin
Letting the resin dry a little at a time by allowing it to float to the surface resulted in a 75% reduction of electric power consumption.

Analysis of Inspection Operations

Shingo said normal inspection is judgment inspection.
It separates good and defective items.
Rework done on defective items if possible
Informative inspection asks for process improvement.
It is like medical examination that leads to treatment.
Statistical Process Control
SPC is sampling based informative inspection.
But Shingo says even it is not sufficient to assure zero defects.
To assure zero defects we need to inspect every item but at low cost per item.
Shingo’s Suggestions
Informative Inspections

Self Inspection
Successive Inspection
Enhanced Self Inspection – Inspection enhanced with devices  - poka-yoke

Example 2.4 – Vacuum Cleaner Packing
Cleaner along with attachments and leaflets to be packed.
When a leaflet is taken from the pile,  a limit switch is operated.
When attachments are taken from the container, a limit switch is operated.
Then only, the full package is allowed to be sealed.
Principle
The purpose of inspection is prevention of the defect.
Quality can be assured when it is built in at the process and when inspection provides immediate and accurate feedback at the source to prevent the defective item to go further.
Self Inspection
It provides the most immediate feedback to the operator.
He can improve the process and also rework on the item.
Disadvantage inherent.
There is potential for lack of objectivity.
He may accept items that ought to be rejected.
Successive Inspection
The operator inspects the item for any defect in the previous operation before processing it.
Shingo says, when this was introduced defects dropped to 0.016% in Moriguchi Electric Company in television production
Inspection enhanced by Poka Yoke
Human operation and inspection can still make errors unintentionally.
Poka Yoke will take care of such errors.
Ex: Left and right covers are to be made from similar components with a hole in different places.
The press was fitted with a poka yoke which does right cover pressing only when the hole is in proper place.
Source Inspection
This is answering the question: What is the source of the defect in the process/operation?
Two types proposed.
Vertical
Horizontal
Source Inspection – Vertical, Horizontal
Vertical source inspection traces problems back through the process flow to identify and control conditions external to the operation that affect quality.
Horizontal source inspection identifies and controls conditions within an operation that affect quality.
Poka-yoke Inspection Methods
Poka-yoke achieves 100% inspection through mechanical or physical control.
Poka-yoke can either be used as a control or a warning.
As a control it stops the process so the problem can be corrected.
As a warning, a buzzer or flashing lamp alerts the worker to a problem that is occurring.

Three types of control poka-yoke
Contact method - identify defects by whether or not contact is established between the device and some feature of the product's shape or dimension
Fixed value method - determines whether a given number of movements have been made


Motion step method - determines whether the established steps or motions of a procedure are followed

Choosing/Designing  Poka Yoke
First decide stage of inspection – Self or Successive
Second – Type of regulation
Control or warning.
Third decide Error Sensing type – Contact, fixed number or motion step

Analysis of Transport Operations

Transport within the plant is a cost that does not add value.
Hence real improvement of the process eliminates the transport function as much as possible.
This involves improving the layout of process.

Ex – 7. Transport Improvement
Tokai Iron Works – process layout -  presses, bending machines, embossing
Layout Change: Flow based layout.
A 60 cm wide belt conveyor with ten presses on either side.
WIP reduced. Production time shortened. Delays disappeared.
200% increase in productivity.
Principle
Only after opportunities for layout improvement have been exhausted should the unavoidable transport work that remains be improved through mechanization.

Eliminating - Storage Operations (Delay)

Process Delay – Permanent storage – Whole lot is waiting
Lot Delays – Temporary storage – One item is being processed. Other items in the lot waiting.
Another classification is storage on the factory floor and storage in a controlled store.
Eliminating - Storage Operations (Delay)
There are three types of accumulations between processes:

E storage - resulting from unbalanced flow between processes  (engineering)
C storage - buffer or cushion stock to avoid delay in subsequent processes due to machine breakdowns or rejects (control)
S storage - safety stock; overproduction beyond what is required for current control purposes

Eliminating E-Storage

E-storage is due to engineering/planning/design of the production-distribution  system
This can be eliminated through leveling quantities, which refers to balancing flow between high and low capacity processes and synchronization.

Leveling would mean running high-capacity machines at less than 100% capacity, in order to match flow with lower capacity machines that are already running at 100% on short interval basis.
At Toyota, the quantity to be produced is determined solely by order requirements (Takt time).

Principle
Presence of high capacity machines should not be used to justify large lot processing and resulting inventory.
Process capacity should serve customer requirements/production requirements and should not determine them
synchronization.
The lots especially one piece lot is processed without delay in a flow.
It is efficient production scheduling that ensures that once quantities are leveled (output is matched), inventories do not pile at any stage due to scheduling conflicts.
Synchronize the entire process flow.

Eliminating C storage - Cushion

Cushion stocks compensate for:
machine breakdowns,
defective products,
downtime for tool and die changes and
sudden changes in production scheduling.

Eliminate Cushion Storage
Prevent machine breakdowns:
Determining the cause of machine failure at the time it occurs, even if it means shutting down the line temporarily.
Total Productive Maintenance movement.

Eliminate Cushion Storage
Zero Defect Movement.
Total quality management.
Use better inspection processes:
Self Inspection.
Successive Inspection.
Enhancement to inspection through Poka Yoke
Eliminate Cushion Storage
Eliminate Lengthy setups and tool changes
Implement SMED to eliminate long set-up times and tool changes
Running smaller batch sizes to allow for quick changes in production plans

Eliminate Cushion Storage
Absorb Change in Production Plan
Running smaller batch sizes allows for quick changes in production plans without disturbing flow production to significant extent.

Eliminating Safety (S) storage

Safety stock is kept not to take care of any predicted problem but to provide additional security
It may guard against delivery delays, scheduling errors, indefinite production schedules, etc.
Ex. 10 Delivery to stores
In example 2.10 Shingo mentions a company wherein vendors supply to store and from store components are supplied to assembly line.
Shingo suggested that vendors should directly supply the day’s requirements to assembly floor and in case of any problem, components in the store can be used.
Less Need for Safety Stock Observed
That practice led to the observation that very less safety stock is needed in the store.

Shingo recommends keeping a small controlled stock that is only used when the daily or hourly scheduled delivery fails or falls behind.
In case of unexpected defects also it can be used.


The safety stock can then be replenished when the scheduled materials arrive, but the supply of materials due for the process go directly to the line, rather than normally going into storage first.
This is the essence of the just-in-time supply method.


Eliminating lot delays
While lots are processed, the entire lot, except for the one piece being processed, is in storage (is idle).
The greatest reduction in production time can be achieved when transport lot sizes are reduced to just one; the piece that was just worked on.

SMED
Using SMED (single-minute exchange of dies), set up time is decreased so large lot sizes are no longer necessary to achieve machine operating efficiencies.
SMED facilitates one item lot sizes.

The SMED System: Shigeo Shingo's Explanation

Layout Improvement - Flow
Transportation changes can be accomplished through flow  layout and using gravity feed Chutes which result in shorter production cycles and decreases in transport man-hours.

Reducing Cycle Time
Generally, semi-processed parts are held between processes 80% of the time in a production cycle time.
It quantity leveling is used and synchronization of flow is created, the cycle time can be reduced by 80%.
By shifting to small lot sizes will further reduce cycle time.


TPS – Reduction of Delays or Storage
Methods of reducing production time delays (JIT) is the foundation of Toyota Production System.
It clearly brings down production cycle time and thereby offers small order to delivery time.

Process Improvements in Toyota
Mixed model small lot production was attempted in Toyota to compete with American manufacturers.
First, inefficiencies in processing operations, inspection operations and transport operations were removed.
Then storage operations were attacked and inventories eliminated.
Toyota surpassed American manufacturers.

Now TPS is promoted as Lean System

Chapter 2 End

Ch. 3 Improving Operations

Operation may be classified as follows:

Set up operations - preparation
Principal operations - performance
Margin allowances - machine breaks
Personal allowances - worker breaks


Improving Setup
SMED

Improving principal operations
The easiest way to improve principal operations is to separate the worker from the machine.
Reduce involvement of man in machine running and production.
This involves the "one worker, many process" theory.
One worker attends 5-6 machines,
The principle is that cost reduction is more important than high machine operating rates.
Machines should not unnecessarily function and produce excess inventory.
But the operable time of the machine should be high.
Whenever needed machine must be ready for production.

Autonomation
Machine detects problem and stops.
Workers correct the problem.
The next step is to make the machine correct the problem

Improving margin allowances

Main operations are automated by marginal activities like removing chips, feeding materials and stocking products are still done by hand by men.
They also need to be automated.
Lubrication: Consider automatic lubrication, use of oil impregnated metals etc.
Cutting oil – Consider automatic oiling or cutting without oil.
Chip removal – Consider powdering chips or automatic lubrication and chip removal.

Workshop allowances

Automate the following:
Automate feeding for materials.
Automate product storage.
By adopting the SMED system, Toyota achieved dramatic reductions in setup time and inventory cost.
Adding multi-machine handling and autonomation further increased productivity.

Chapters 2 & 3 to be used in analysis of value stream map (VSM)

Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering (TPS IE) Part 2

Summary of Remaining Chapters of the Book

http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/12/toyota-production-system-industrial.html

Updated 11.7.2024,  11.9.2022,  16.2.2022,  11 July 2021,  14 June 2020,   21 August 2019,  22 August 2017,  9 Sep 2015
First published 9 Sep 2014

Olivier Larue - About Toyota Systems

 

https://lei.podbean.com/e/the-toyota-triangle-and-problem-solving/

Seven Flows of Manufacturing - Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering

TPS is Industrial Engineering System of Toyota Motors.

IE is a system and the Toyota production system may be regarded as Toyota style IE.

Taiichi Ohno on Industrial Engineering - Toyota Style Industrial Engineering

https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/11/taiichi-ohno-on-industrial-engineering.html

 

Toyota Production System has a system or process design component and system and process improvement component. The Jidoka pillar of TPS describes these activities. The other pillar JIT deals with quantities of material flowing in the system. JIT is a small batch quantity production system.

Seven flows are important in process design and process improvement.

They are:

The flow of raw material

The flow of work-in-process

The flow of finished goods

The flow of operators

The flow of machines

The flow of information

The flow of engineering

Industrial engineers must first observe each of these flows to gain full understanding. Based on observation, they have to take notes and sketch out the seven flows. 

https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/19651/underst-implement-7-flows-of-manufacturing

2026

Post by Sameer Kataria

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7437573843746975744/

OCTOBER 21, 2007 BY MARK

The Seventh Flow - The flow of engineering

http://theleanthinker.com/2007/10/21/the-seventh-flow/

Understand and implement the 7 flows of manufacturing.

Published on February 5, 2016

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/understand-implement-7-flows-manufacturing-graham-chick/

Nakao-san and Shingijutsu-Kaizen

August 4, 2014 by Bob Emiliani

https://bobemiliani.com/nakao-san-and-shingijutsu-kaizen/

A kaizen method like no other!

Shingijutsu-Kaizen: The Art of Discovery and Learning describes how, for more than three decades, Kaizen consultants from Shingijutsu USA Corporation have been helping manufacturing and service organizations improve processes by teaching people the methods and tools of flow production.

https://bobemiliani.com/book/shingijutsu-kaizen/

http://www.shingijutsuusa.com/

Chihiro Nakao - Taiichi Ohno’s best student from outside of Toyota proper.

The Most Dangerous Idea in the World

By Jon Miller • Published: June 22nd, 2015

https://blog.gembaacademy.com/2015/06/22/the-most-dangerous-idea-in-the-world/

Nakao was in charge of development activities in a supplier company.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=cNs_CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q&f=false

Flow Analysis is part of Toyota Kaizen Course in 1968

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=cNs_CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA10#v=onepage&q&f=false

Improving Flow - Lee Candy

Document or Map the process - Process Chart, Value Stream Map

Identify and log all problems the process owners/managers/engineers/operators experience

Identify all waste in the current process

Develop ideas for  improvement opportunities

Do engineering of improvement ideas

Develop Process Chart or Map of the Revised Process 

Develop an action plan to install the revised process

Actively monitor the new processes put into place to assure improvement expected.

Create performance measures for control in the operations

https://online.kettering.edu/news/2016/07/07/understanding-principle-flow-lean-manufacturing

A Toyota Leader on Misunderstandings About the Toyota Production System

By Mark Graban On Apr 24, 2019

It's a talk given by Nampachi Hayashi at the “Building on Success 2018 Conference.”

Mr. Hayashi says the name “should have been TPS = Toyota Process Development System.”

Built-in quality and improved flow leading to lower cost… as a result. Cost reduction isn't the primary lever that's pulled (as we see attempted in so many Western companies, including hospitals)… it's a result. Simple cost-cutting might not lead to better quality and flow (it's often quite the opposite that happens). But better flow and better quality always leads to lower cost, in my experience. Productivity is also a forward activity. It focuses on fully utilizing the machine and man to do a job with less resources. This it results in lower cost.

https://www.leanblog.org/2019/04/video-notes-nampachi-hayashi-on-misunderstandings-about-the-toyota-production-system/

Discussion in LinkedIn Topic  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6866080389295874048

When you talk about Flow - what else can be added to the information below!

Sivakumar Shanmugasundaram

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivakumar-shanmugasundaram-84b9665a/

Operator flow .....

Are the operators knowledgeable about the process ?

Have the operators acquired the required skills to execute the work?

Is their fatigue level is same throughout the operating hours ?

Are they able to identify the defects ?

Are they able to identify the abnormalities in the machine ?

Are they able to measure and adjust the machine to produce zero defects ?

Material flow....

Is the material flow visible throughout the value stream ?

Is the material defect free ?

Is the material easy to handle ?

Information flow...

Does the right information reach the right person at the right time ?

What is the mode of information flow ?

verbal, hardcopies, or electronic

Has the receiver able to understand the information and execute effectively?

Ud 12.3.2026, 16.11.2021

Pub 3.5.2021

The Toyota Production System - Features, Principles and Mechanics - Shigeo Shingo - Industrial Engineering

 

The success of Toyota in cost reduction, productivity improvement, and international competitiveness and its celebrated Toyota Production System, fulfilled the dream of Yoichi Ueno (that Japan can guide US in improved practices of efficiency improvement). The success of #Toyota and the World Class #TPS was  built on the sustained efforts many Japanese persons who understood Taylor and Gilbreth's writings and improvised them in implementing them in Japanese companies.

http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2016/06/yoichi-ueno-japanese-leader-in.html

Shigeo Shingo said 80% of the TPS is waste elimination that is industrial engineering, 15% production management and 5% kanban communications. In other words, we can say,  "Toyota production system (TPS) is 80% process improvement (Jidoka) and 20% production planning improvement (JIT)." 

Based on the above statement of Shigeo Shingo and the description of Jidoka and JIT provided in many books, I interpret Jidoka as process improvement. JIT is production quantity planning and information sharing.

Toyota production system was developed by managers of Toyota with major contribution from Taiichi Ohno by implementing waste elimination methods advocated by industrial engineering. Taiichi Ohno specially applauds industrial engineering as profit making engineering for Toyota. 

Shingo builds up on the Ohno's explanation of TPS by clearly bringing out the role of industrial engineering in the development of TPS in his book. The following content is from Shingo's Book: 

A Study of the Toyota Production System from Industrial Engineering Point of View

Industrial engineering point of view is IE Strategic View, Facilities Industrial Engineering, Process Industrial Engineering, Operations Industrial Engineering and Engineering Element Industrial Engineering.

Chapter 4  Conclusions of Developing Non-Stock Production 

The principal feature of the TPS is eliminating the total cost associated with inventory - the total of inventory carrying cost, setup or order cost and shortage cost. Hence, TPS is described as stockless or non-stock system.

Stock occur due to two reasons:

Naturally Occurrence:

Stock accumulates because of
* Incorrect market demand forecasts
* Overproduction just to be on the safe side due to likely defects
* Lot production (Batch production)
* Due technological and capacity constraints in certain processes. Heat treatment in three shifts but doing further operations in one shift.

Stock that get accumulated due to inefficiencies in the production system
* Production cycle being longer than order-to-delivery cycle.
* Stock produced in advance to take care of extra demand in the future
*Stock produced to compensate for delays in inspection and transport
* Stock produced to compensate for machine breakdowns
*Stock maintained as buffer between machines to take care of defectives
*Stock generated as per calculation of economic batch quantity to take care of high setup or order cost.

Stock reduction was carried out rationally in Toyota production system.

Three strategies can be pursued to approach the idea of non-stock production.

* Reduce the production cycle
* Eliminate the breakdowns - do preventive maintenance to make the machine available all the time for production (Total productive maintenance)
*Eliminate defect - zero defects through process improvement - detect the reasons for defects and remove
them from the process. 
* Reduce setup times and reduce batch quantity to single piece.
Stock

Chapter 5 The Principles of the Toyota Production System

The Toyota Production System is 80 percent waste elimination (Industrial Engineering), 15 percent production system and only 5 percent kanban communication.

Some Commonly Used Terms in TPS

Waste of Overproduction

There are two types of overproduction:
* Making more than required quantity for a delivery period.
* Making a product before it is needed.

Many systems are happy to produce an item before its delivery date and feel comfortable. But Toyota system does not want both types of overproduction.

Just-in-time

JIT also means just-on-time. An item should be made available when it is required not before or after the required time.

Separation of Worker from the Machine

The whole productivity movement of Toyota was based on the fact that per worker production of cars in America was 10 times that of Toyota company. Toyota wanted to improve their productivity and therefore concentrated on reducing the time spent by a worker on the machine. Machines must work without the assistance of the worker as much as possible. Jidoka or autonomation is the name given to this activity. Along with JIT or stockless production, separation of worker from the machine forms the two pillars of Toyota Production System.

Low Utilization Rates

Toyota's machine-output ratio is two to three times  that of similar companies. This could be due to flow production systems or due to planned extra machine capacity to take care of extra demand. But one must always remember that Toyota's main goal is cost reduction and every decision in Toyota is subjected to engineering economic evaluation.

Multi-machine Handling

In 1955, 700 workers were handling 3500 machines. Hence sometimes machines are idle because worker is busy with other machines and cannot load the machines. Toyota permits machine idle times but it does not permit man idle time. The reason is that a machine costs $500 per month but a man costs twice or thrice more.

Equipment Planning and Low Operating Rates

As low operating rate is expected, Toyota buys less expensive machines. But it improves the machines to suit its requirements continuously.  Because in normal times machines have excess capacity or low operating rates,  peak demand can be handled by hiring temporary workers.

Perform Operation and Remove the Defective Part

Whenever a problem appears, Toyota insists on proper diagnosis of the root cause and demands that an operation is done to remove the replace the defective part of the process. It is not content  with the temporary cure of rework on the defective workpiece.

Fundamentals of Toyota Production System

Adopting a Non-Cost Principle

Elimination of Waste

Eliminating waste through fundamental process improvements
               Processing purpose evaluation and rationalization
               Inspection purpose evaluation and rationalization
               Transport purpose evaluation and rationalization
               Delay reason evaluation and rationalization
               Storage purpose evaluation and rationalization

Eliminating waste through fundamental operation improvement
               Setup improvement
               Auxiliary improvement
               Job allowance improvement
               Workshop allowance improvement
               Improving processing and essential operations

Ask the "five W's and one H" and "Why?" Five Times

              What -  What is being produced  - Is it required - Value engineering
               Who - Men, machines, tools and jigs used for the production
               When - Time  - Production planning also comes here.
                Where - Space (Layout)
              Why - rational for the use of everything used in production. Because it provides opportunities for improvement.
              How - The methods - motion used by man, speed and feeds used by machines

At Toyota specially, 5 Whys are used to identify root causes for defects and appearance of problems.

Mass Production and Large Lot Production are not same

Mass production is beneficial. Large lot production has extra cost. It can be reduced with SMED.

Order-based Production

Characteristics of Order-based Production

To take care of fluctuations in the orders, Toyota sets basic productions capacity at minimum demand level and handles increases through overtime and the use of excess machine capacity and temporary workers.

Overtime: There are four hour breaks between the two shifts and overtime can be given in either shift as needed.

Excess capacity: During the minimum load, many workers manage ten machines but up to 50% capacity only. As demand increases, temporary workers are hired and machines can work at 100% capacity. But machine work has to be simplified and standardized so that temporary workers can be trained in three days and they operate the machines.

Strong Market Research

Toyota does spend on market research to know market requirements. Twice in a year 60,000 people are surveyed. Five or six additional surveys are done in a year.

Production Planning

Long term planning is done.
Annual planning is done.
Monthly planning is done.
Daily planning is done. Daily planning based on actual orders. The actual orders are informed to the first stage of assembly section and they draw the components as required from component supply stages.

Toyota's Supermarket System

In the supermarket system of Toyota, stocking is triggered by actual demand for the components for a daily requirement.

Differences between Ford and Toyota Systems

Large lot versus small lot production

Mixed model assembly in Toyota system

More consistent one piece flow in Toyota system

Chapter 6  Mechanics of the Toyota Production System

Improving the Process - Schedule control and Just-in-Time

Toyota makes efforts and reduces production cycle.

Seven Principles for Shortening the Production Cycle

Reduce process delays
Reduce lot delays
Reducing production time
Employ layout, line forming, and the full work control system
Synchronize operations and absorb deviations
Establishing tact time
Ensure product flow between processes

Adopting SMED


Elimination of Defects

Inspection to prevent defects must be practiced.

100% inspection must be adopted.

Poka-Yoke has to be used as a means for zero defects.

Eliminating Machine Breakdowns
It is also process improvement in TPS. Workers are asked to stop  a machine if there is some trouble. Supervisors are given training and are urged to try to keep machines running. When a trouble appears, a visual indication is given and all try to take care of the problem. Preventing recurrence is the motto of TPS.

Chapter 7 Mechanics of the TPS

Improving Process - Leveling and the Nagara System

What is Leveling?

Leveling is a method of balancing load and capacity in a way different from the traditional way.
For example if load on car assembly plant is 300,000 sets of model A, 600,000 sets of model B and 900,000 units of model C and capacity is 1,800,000 units, the traditional solution is  to make 300,000 sets of model A and 300,000 sets of model B in the first 10 days, 300,000 sets of model B and 300,000 sets of model c and in the next 10 days, and 600,000 units of model C in the last 10 days. The load is balanced at the month level, but it gives rise to inventories of various models and even shortages of some models.

 But Toyota followed a different way because it has as its aim prevention and reduction of over production. In the first 10 days, production of 100,000 units of model A, 200,000 units of model B and 300,000 units of model C are produced. We can see now that inventory will come down. It the 10 day planning/production period can be further reduced, all models are produced in much smaller periods the over production can further be reduced. Toyota uses this approaches and reduces the planning period in which all models are made further and further. This is called "mixed production" and on assembly line it is called "mixed model assembly."


Segmented Production

Making production plans for half a month(H), ten days (T), week (W) and Day (D) are segmented production plans.

Mixed Production and Tact Time

Toyota combines product A with 30 Seconds and product B with 25 seconds and specifies 55 seconds as tact time for A+B.


Nagara System

The nagara system facilitates one piece flow by laying out machines in the sequence of operations by transcending the earlier shop divisions and training and facilitating operators to operate multiple unrelated machines in sequence.

Smooth production flow, ideally one piece at a time, characterized by synchronization (balancing) of production processes and maximum use of available time; includes overlapping of operations where practical. A nagara production system is one in which seemingly unrelated tasks can be produced simultaneously by the same operator.

Nagara is multi-machine handling in a process or flow system. The operator works with two or more different machines.

The example given in the body refers to a spot welding operation, followed by a press operation and then a welding operation that attached the pressed part to a body.

Chapter 8 Mechanics of the TPS

Improving Operations

Operations concern the flow of equipment and operators in time and space. Improvements in operations have long been emphasized in the Toyota Production system.

Components of Operations

1. Preparation and after-adjustment
2. Principal operations
3. Marginal allowances

Preparation and After-Adjustment

Reduce them through SMED

Margin Allowances

Personal allowances - For fatigue and personal needs
Non-personal allowances -
Operational allowances: Oiling, clearing away chips etc.
Workplace related: parts arriving late and machine breakdowns

Standard Operation and Standard Operation Sheets

Standard operation implies optimization of work conditions by analyzing

What is produced
Who - persons, machines, tools,and jigs
How - Method - machine speeds and feeds, man's movements
Where - Layout of the equipment and man - Work Station Design
When - Standard time, and Schedule

Present
There has to be a standard operation sheet by the side of the machine using which new workers are trained.

Future:
The Toyota system demands that all work is done within standard time and supervisor is charged with the responsibility. He has to train the worker. Also supervisor is responsible for improvements.

Types of Standard Operating Charts

Capacity charts by part
Standard task combination
Task manual
Task instruction manual
Standard operating sheet

The topic of standard operations is discussed in more detail in
Standard Operation and Standard Operation Sheets in Toyota Production System

Improving Methods of Operation

The operation, which is a man-machine combination can be improved through:

1. Improvements in human motions
2. Improvement in machine movements - increasing machine cutting speeds, reducing time through simultaneous cutting on multiaxis machines, and using multiple turret heads to shorten tool replacements.
3. Mechanizing human motions.

Improving human motions

Motion study can be used to reduce the operation time or the operator time. Motion study improves the movements or motions made by the operator and also improves the arrangement of materials and tools. 5S movement of Japanese industry is basically the offshoot of principles of motion economy.

Items must be arranged neatly, they must be easily accessible and they must be uniformly aligned.

Improvements in Machine Movements

Examples include raising output by increasing machine cutting speeds, reducing time through simultaneous cutting on multi-axis machines, and using multiple turret heads to shorten tool replacement time. This could involve using faster cutting processes like milling in the place of slower process like shaping.

Mechanizing Human Motions

In Toyota, first the human motions are optimized and then mechanization is attempted. Whenever mechanization is thought of its economics are thoroughly investigated. Toyota insists on kaizen - good change.

Machine Layout and Worker Efficiency

Workers are stationed with in a U layout so that they can easily help one another in case of need. Toyota encourages workers to assist each other in case of need or necessity. It discourages island mentality.  The system requires each worker to learn the operations performed at the two processes adjacent to his or her own and help the others when needed.

Multiple Machine Handling Operations

In 1955 itself, Toyota operated 3,500 machines with only 700 workers.  So one worker operates five machines on an average. In recent years (1981), Toyota managers started advocating multi-process handling. In multiple machine handling, the worker may handling the same type of machines. But in multi-process handling, the worker will handling multiple machines in accordance with the flow of operations or process. The capability of multi-process handling by a worker improves the flow of the process and also improves productivity.

Shingo's Summary of the Toyota Production System - The Last Section of Chapter 8

Basic Features of the TPS

# Cost Reduction through Industrial Engineering methods (elimination of waste)
# Emphasis on non stock production - elimination of overproduction
# Emphasis on labor cost reduction through elimination of waste motions and use of minimal permanent manpower.
# Use of SMED to have low set up times and realize small lot production. Ideal: One piece flow.
# Use order based production
# Follow the rule quantity produced must be quantity ordered.

Process Features of TPS

# Active use of value engineering to optimize the design itself.
# Make effective use of division of labor in design of process
# Using Nagara system
# Inspection - depend on self inspection, successive inspection and poka-yoke
# Transportation - Use flow lay out through out the production system.
# Delay - All operations must have equal times as far as possible. Avoid process delay.
             - Lots must be small - Avoid lot delay

Operation Features of TPS

# Use of SMED and its advanced and automated form one touch setups
# Use autonomatic machines as much as possible rationally (based on engineering economic analysis)
# Use nagara system (machines laid out in flow and operators handling multiple machines in the flow line.
# Autonomate material loading and unloading
# Encourage cooperative  work and eliminate isolated person mentality. Operators have to help the upstream or downstream colleagues as needed and as possible.
# Actively pursue minimum manpower deployment in the production system.

Toyota production system brought two revolutionary changes in the production system thinking and practice.

First one is the thinking that market should pay cost plus profit. Toyota changed it to market expansion through cost reduction and price reduction achieved through identifying and eliminating waste from the product  and production system design and operation.

Second,  the traditional thinking was mass production in large lot based on forecasted demand and keeping inventories. Toyota changed it to small lot production based on no inventory and actual orders.

Based on the above two changes, Shingo concludes that Toyota Production System represents a revolution in production philosophy.

Chapter 9 The Evolution of the Kanban System

Kanban and Railway Tablet System

Ohno discussed the introduction of Kanban system with Shingo. Shingo remembered the tablet system in railways which is exchanged between the driver of the train and the station master. Until the tablet is put into a track switches, the station master cannot allow another train to get into the track segment. Similarly the station master removes the tablet from the next segment of the track and gives it to the driver. The driver cannot move from the station unless he was given the tablet. May be there is a system that will allow the tablet to be removed only when the earlier train completed its journey in the track segment. Shingo felt Kanban system was similar to it.

Then Shingo brings into discussion the order point formula.

Order point is equal to consumption during lead time plus the safety stock.
The batch quantity has to be more than the order point. Reduction in set up time allows the reduction in batch quantity and any reduction in production lead time results in reduction of order point. Thus each improvement in set up time can reduce batch quantity and resulting lead time reduction can reduce order point. Similarly, by attacking root causes that create the need for safety stocks like appearance of defects, machine breakdowns, worker absenteeism, material shortages can reduce safety stocks. Thus measures can be taken to reduce inventories in the system.

Supermarkets and the Kanban System

1. Consumers choose goods of their choice and take the items to the cash counter.
2. The store personnel restock, what has been removed by customers.

Using Kanban for communication is similar to the super market system.

Kanban meaning "Sign" in Japanese language has the three functions.

1. Identification tag - indicates what the product is.
2. Job instruction tag - indicates what is to be made, quantity and time
3. Transfer instruction tag - indicates where the item is to be delivered.

Kanban is also treated as a signal to make a pallet load of parts. Hence the number of kanbans or pallet loads permitted as work in process inventory is an important number.

Number of kanbans or pallet loads permitted as WIP (N) =
[Maximum stock permitted = Batch quantity + safety stock]/Capacity of one pallet (n)

In Toyota system, there are efforts to reduce WIP continuously to zero.

To make the lot size one and WIP zero various steps like implementing SMED, Minimum transport layouts, zero defect and zero breakdown programs etc. are necessary.

Regulatory Function of Kanban

Giving production instructions at the final assembly line allows the kanban system to make transmit the information on new car models (model required by the customers) automatically and easily to upstream processes.

Chapter 10. Some Peripheral But Important Issues

Elimination of the Seven Kinds of Waste

1. Processing

Value analysis and engineering needs to be made. Also purpose analysis needs to be done.

2. The waste of making defective products

Poka-yoke needs to be used to prevent defects. Self inspection and successive inspection are to be promoted.

3. Transport

Improve the layout and reduce the need for transport.

4. Delay

Use small lot sizes and minimize delay for the jobs. Allot multiple machines to workers such that there is no waiting time for them. If needed machines can be idle.

5. Inventory

Use SMED and one piece flow and reduce production cycles.

 

6. Wasted Motions

Do motion studies

7. Overproduction

Reduce production for inventory rationally. Use SMED and decrease lot sizes. Improve informative inspection and avoid defects. Maintain machines such that there are no breakdowns and machines are available production all the time. Produce just-in-time for stockless production.

Kanban Rules

1. A process withdraws parts from the preceding process as per Kanban instructions and removes the Kanban from the pallet and leave the kanban there.

2. The earlier process makes parts in the quantities and order specified in the kanban that they pick up from the storage bin.

3. Nothing is transported and nothing is made without kanban.

4. Kanban always accompanies the parts themselves (identification tag must always be present.

5. Every part placed on a pallet must be of acceptable quality.

6. Efforts are to be made to reduce WIP by reducing kanbans over time.

Extending the System to Parts Suppliers

Toyota did not order suppliers to supply on JIT basis. It implemented JIT in its plants over a period of 20 years and then helped suppliers to implement it over a period of 10 years. Suppliers did not suffer because of the change but benefited through increased profits.

TPS and MRP

Shingo said MRP is not committed to the fundamental improvements like SMED, Zero defects and Zero breakdowns like TPS.

Shingo gave the opinion that companies may use MRP after doing fundamental improvement to the system as done by Toyota.

Chapter 11 - The Future Course of the Toyota Production System

Shingo says people say Just on Time is better tern than Just in Time. But the JIT has become a popular term.

Shingo mentions some steps that companies can take to get orders early and thus increase order to delivery period.

* Solicit advance orders from previous users based on life expectancy of the purchased item.
* In the case of car, approach persons learning to drive.
* Approach people who are getting their building licenses or permissions
* Contact printing presses who prepare wedding invitations, find out the bride and bridegroom and propose various household appliances.

The above things point out to events that precede actual demand and action by sales people can give larger order-to-delivery period.

Of course, actions to reduce production cycle has to go on.

Companies have to move from SMED to One-Touch Setups

No-touch methods

Shingo points out that manufacture can be done in sets, so that one component is made after another component without the operator touching the machine. It means that even change of component is automated.

The Development of a Comprehensive Flow System

TPS presently uses supermarket system. Can it be eliminated and the entire system be made a flow system?

Extending mixed production to machine shop, presswork, welding, forging and casting.

Kanban System Developments

Shingo says he foresees further reduction in Kanbans between processes means less WIP.
Second,. Shingo says the Kanbans can go to further upstream processes instead of the preceding process and thus helping in cutting WIP further.

Developing low cost machines and implementing multi-process handling
It needs to be extended to all the production system.

Extending to Supplier Plants

Efforts will be made to spread the TPS to the entire supply chain.

Summary of Shigeo Shingo's Book - A Study of the Toyota Production System

Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering (TPS IE) Part 1

Summary of Chapters 1 to 3

Chapter 12  - Introducing Toyota Production System

Introducing and Implementing the Toyota Production System - Shigeo Shingo

Chapter 13. The Toyota Production System in Summary

1. The Minus-Cost Principle
2. Non-Stock (JIT) - The First Cornerstone of Waste Elimination
3. Toward Flow Operation
4. Shortening Setup Changeover Times
5. The Elimination of Breakdowns and Defects
6. Fusing Leveling and Non-Stock Production
7. Toward Comprehensive Integrated Flow Operations
8. Labor Cost Reduction (Autonomation): The Second Cornerstone of Waste Elimination
9. From Mechanization to Autonomation
10. Maintaining and Developing Standard Operations
11. Toward a Kanban System

Chapter 14 Afterword

A thesis will have antithesis in dialectics.
There can be a compromise between the two to satisfy both the groups at a point in time.

But Shingo says, the proponents of thesis can try sublation.

What is sublation?

In it's basic meaning, it stands for raising something, from a lower place to a higher place.  Hegel, the famous proponent of dialectics, uses meaning and advocates the need to take the original thesis to a higher level, by preserving what is good in it and improving the disadvantages indicated by the antithesis.

Shingo gives the example that non-stock required deliveries from suppliers every two hours.  The opposing argument pointed out that truck efficiency of the supplier or from the supplier end will go down drastically and will result in increased cost. This disadvantage assumes that one truck will carry the load of one supplier. The sublated solution was that a truck was going to various suppliers and collecting material from them. So trucks were loaded to capacity and trucking cost was not allowed to go up. Thus a higher-level plan involving a totally new method - frequent mixed load deliveries emerged.

The disadvantage of smaller lot sizes was tackled by reduction of set up cost through SMED.

The sublation approach is used in many problems in Toyota.

The primary features of the Toyota production are:
1. Elimination of waste based on the belief that a company's only legitimate source of profits is cost reduction.
2. Satisfy demand through order based non-cost production.

The TPS has been compared to squeezing water from a towel thought to be dry. Many people settle for placing that towel under sun to dry further. But there are some people who squeeze the towel further and bring out some more water. Similarly there are many who eliminate waste that everyone recognizes as waste. Certain problems are allowed to exist in companies are necessary evils and people have become hostage to them. But in TPS, such problems are understood with detailed observation supported by deep thinking and problem solving  goes back to basic issues from which designs emerge to make revolutionary improvements.

Anyone undertaking the study of the Toyota production system comes face to face with SMED concept. Shingo said, "It is developed by me." SMED is now a theory and technique. It is now employed in hundreds of Japanese companies.

TPS is not entirely different from ordinary production management systems. But has unique concepts and special techniques to implement them.  It would be dangerous to take any of the techniques of TPS and implement it in a hurry. This will lead to problems. Shingo himself gave a plan to implement the techniques in a sequence.  One should not rush in to implementation of techniques. The objective is cost reduction and as long as the objective is being achieved, there is no need to rush into techniques. The importance is to be given achieve cost reduction in a continuous way and the next priority is schedule of implementing the next technique.

MACHINE EFFORT INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING - Neglected Component of Industrial Engineering of F.W. Taylor.

"Through this lowering of the selling price the whole public, the buyer and user, of the joint product of the labor and machinery have profited by getting what they buy cheaper." - Taylor in Testimony.

Note products of industrial establishments are the joint product of the labor and machinery.

Celebrate the birthday of F.W. Taylor in your Industrial Engineering Department and Company. Share what you are implementing in your company from Taylor's Ideas.

Birthday of F.W. Taylor 20th March. Modern Industrial Engineering March  2026 Issue - Taylor Month of IE - Contribution of F.W. Taylor to Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management - Implemented and Neglected

Access Essays on F.W. Taylor's Writing - Belt Drive Design, Productivity System and Section, Shop Management, Productivity Science of Machining, and Scientific Management

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/march-2026-issue-taylor-month-ie-contribution-fw-industrial-kvss-71nlc

#IndustrialEngineering #Productivity #CostReduction  #Products  #Processes #Facilities

Updated on 23.4.2022,  5.10.2021,  22 August 2019, 1 December 2014

Jidoka - Automation and Mechanization - Process Engineering, Facilities and Industrial Engineering in Toyota Production System

Industrial engineering has two important components - Machine Effort Industrial Engineering and Human Effort Industrial Engineering. 

Jidoka - Human Effort Engineering and Industrial Engineering in Toyota Production System  

Jidoka refers to Process Design and Process Improvement in Toyota Production System. It also includes operator work design and training. Jidoka is development of full process involving machines and operators.

"The deeper meaning of Jidoka is improving production process and machines so they can always do work that adds value instead of just spinning their gears. Ohno’s choice of spelling for Jidōka (See image below) emphasizes that if we remove non-value added work and improve value-added work the defects will ultimately be eliminated." - Jun Nakamuro, Fully Endorsed Expert for Organizational Transformation Based on the Ohno Method and TPS

Re-Translating Lean from Its Origin, January 5, 2017

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/re-translating-lean-from-its-origin-jun-nakamuro/

"The concept of jidoka originated in the early 1900s when Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Group, invented a textile loom that stopped automatically when any thread broke. Previously, if a thread broke the loom would churn out mounds of defective fabric, so each machine needed to be watched by an operator. Toyoda’s innovation let one operator control many machines. In Japanese, jidoka is a Toyota-created word pronounced exactly the same (and written in kanji almost the same) as the Japanese word for automation, but with the added connotations of humanistic and creating value."

https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/jidoka/

自動化

The word below in the picture is used in Toyota for Jidoka. It indicates machines with human touch or intelligence. It is automatic machines with human touch. It can be interpreted as a system having machines and people with appropriate roles that provides quality and productivity (lack of waste of resources).

Mr. Michel Baudin described some aspects of machine effort engineering and machine  effort industrial engineering in Toyota Production System in his "Working with Machines: The Nuts and Bolts of Lean Operations with Jidoka." Baudin also discussed human effort engineering and industrial engineering in the book.

A Toyota Leader on Misunderstandings About the Toyota Production System

It's a talk given by Nampachi Hayashi at the “Building on Success 2018 Conference.”

Mr. Hayashi says the name “should have been TPS = Toyota Process Development System.”

Jidoka = Toyota Process Development System.

Built-in quality and improved flow leading to lower cost… as a result. Cost reduction isn't the primary lever that's pulled (as we see attempted in so many Western companies)… it's a result. Simple cost-cutting might not lead to better quality and flow (it's often quite the opposite that happens). But better flow and better quality always leads to lower cost, in my experience. Productivity is also a forward activity. It focuses on fully utilizing the machine and man to do a job with less resources. This it results in lower cost.

https://www.leanblog.org/2019/04/video-notes-nampachi-hayashi-on-misunderstandings-about-the-toyota-production-system/

Autonomation describes a feature of machine design to effect the principle of jidoka (自働化)（じどうか jidouka), used in the Toyota Production System (TPS) .

Etymology

The word "autonomation" 自働化, a loan word from the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, is a portmanteau of "autonomous" and "automation" 自動化, which is written using three kanji characters: 自（じ ji） "self", 動（どう dou）movement, and 化（か ka）"-ization". In the Toyota Production System, the second character is replaced with 働（どう dou） "work", which is a character derived by adding a radical representing "human" to the original 動.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomation

Two Pillars of TPS - Jidoka and JIT

Jidoka - Process designs (Process engineering, Process Planning and Process Industrial Engineering) that eliminate waste

https://global.toyota/en/company/vision-and-philosophy/production-system/

JIT - Material procurement and flow system that eliminates waste.

Jidoka is based on engineering - Product engineering, process engineering, facilities engineering. product industrial engineering, process industrial engineering, facilities industrial engineering,  human effort industrial engineering.

Toyota Production System - Vision & Philosophy (From Company's Website)

Toyota Production System is a production system based on the philosophy of achieving the complete elimination of all waste in pursuit of the most efficient methods.

This production control system was established  with the objective of making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as swiftly as possible. The Toyota Production System (TPS) was established based on two concepts: "jidoka" (which can be loosely translated as "automation with a human touch"),  and the "Just-in-Time" concept, in which each process produces only what is needed for the next process in a continuous flow.

Based on the basic philosophies of jidoka and Just-in-Time, TPS can efficiently and quickly produce vehicles of sound quality, one at a time, that fully satisfy customer requirements.

TPS and its approach to cost reduction are the wellsprings of competitive strength and unique advantages for Toyota. 

The TPS concept

For Toyota, jidoka means that  machines come to a safe stop whenever an abnormality occurs.  

To develop such intelligent machines and processes incorporating these machines, engineers meticulously build each new line component to exacting standards and further improve them  through incremental kaizen (industrial engineering - continuous improvement). Engineers simplify the operations. They create instruction sheets so that the skills of engineers are transferred to operators. The process instruction sheet and the training associated with it enables any operator to use the line to produce the same result.

Once the line is producing the required quality production, the jidoka mechanism is incorporated into actual production lines. Through the engineering repetition of this process by engineers, machinery becomes simpler and less expensive, while maintenance becomes less time consuming and less costly, enabling the creation of simple, slim, flexible lines that are adaptable to fluctuations in production volume.

The work done by engineers by their own hands in this process is the bedrock of engineering skill. Machines and robots do not think for themselves or evolve on their own. Rather, they evolve as we transfer our skills and craftsmanship to them. In other words, craftsmanship is achieved by learning the basic principles of manufacturing through actual work, then applying them on the factory floor to steadily make improvements. This cycle of improvement in both human skills and technologies is the essence of Toyota's jidoka. Advancing jidoka in this way helps to increase machine capabilities and human resource capabilities.

Human wisdom and ingenuity are indispensable to delivering ever-better cars to customers. Going forward, we will maintain our steadfast dedication to constantly developing human resources who can think independently and implement kaizen.

Just-in-Time

―Improving productivity―

Making only "what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed"

Producing quality products efficiently through the complete elimination of waste, inconsistencies, and unreasonable requirements on the production line (known respectively in Japanese as muda, mura, muri).

In order to fulfill an order from a customer as quickly as possible, the vehicle is efficiently built within the shortest possible period of time by adhering to the following:

When a vehicle order is received, production instructions must be issued to the beginning of the vehicle production line as soon as possible.

The assembly line must be stocked with the required number of all necessary parts so that any kind of ordered vehicle can be assembled.

The assembly line must replace the parts used by retrieving the same number of parts from the parts-producing process (the preceding process).

The preceding process must be stocked with small numbers of all types of parts and produce only the numbers of parts that were retrieved by an operator from the next process.

"Sakichi Toyoda worked with the problem and resolved it. Now the machine no longer has to stop. Hence, it is the ultimate form of jidoka: Make a machine that can run without stops!"   Christoph Roger in   https://www.allaboutlean.com/jidoka-3/

My comment on Rogers' post in Linkedin

Jidoka is to be interpreted as better and better machines and processes. It is better and better engineering. The interpretation of lean theory has distorted the meaning. Its interpretation has to better and better combination of machines and people (process).

Jidoka - Excellent Machines - Excellent Operators - Process Engineering and Industrial Engineering in Toyota Production System

https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2021/04/jidoka-automation-and-mechanization.html

How to implement Jidoka in Lean Manufacturing ? Autonomation

Knowledge Factory-Lean Six Sigma

"Jidoka, also known as automation with a human touch, comes from the Japanese word for 'autonomation'. It's about creating a system where machines, not humans, identify and resolve errors."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0UJNC43WOM

Shigeo Shingo on  Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering

Shigeo Shingo - Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering (TPS IE) Part 1

https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2014/02/industrial-engineering-foundation-of.html

Shigeo Shingo - Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering (TPS IE) Part 2

http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/12/toyota-production-system-industrial.html

Shigeo Shingo - Introducing and Implementing the Toyota Production System Industrial Engineering - Part 3

http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/12/introducing-and-implementing-toyota.html

Michel Baudin - "Working with Machines: The Nuts and Bolts of Lean Operations with Jidoka."

Steps of Automation for Machining

1. Introduction of power feed.

2. Automatic stop and return to start position at the end of a cut

3. Automatic unloading of the workpiece

4. Automatic loading of the workpiece

5. Automatic error diagnosis

6. Automatic transportation between operations

Chapter 12: The Lean Approach to Automation

Toyota uses machines and automation at all appropriate places. In this if follows the principle advocated by Barnes. For each step in a process/operation, the best of automation, mechanization or manual work is to be used.

Jidoka is machine - people (machine-man) system. Toyota added man to classical machine symbol and created the symbol for Toyota's Jidoka (Baudin).

Mechanization designates the replacement of human or animal muscle with machines to perform work.

After mechanization of many activities, automation was started by engineers. In automation, machines are told through mechanical means, electrical means, hydraulic means, electronic means or through computer instructions when to start and when to stop and what to do.

Automation reduces amount of human intervention in working of machines. Any change that results in fewer or shorter operator intervention in work of the machines is automation.

Seven Steps in Automating Machining Operations

In early days Toyota engineers had a list of tasks to be done in automating machining. Now all their machines are automated to a very large extent. But engineers of companies that are in the process of automating can learn from the Toyota's automation steps list.

1. Adding a power drive:  As we know, most of the machines now provide power to the work piece in case of lathe and to the rotary tool in case of milling machines.

2. Adding power feed: In case of lathe, tool feed is done through power. Still an operator is required to stop the cut.

3. Automatic stopping of the cut:  If the machine can stop the cut automatically as specified, the operator can start the cut and go and attend another machine. If the tool can come to the starting position after completing a cut, it will save some more time of the operator.

4. Automatic unloading: If the operation is completed, the machine can eject the completed part.

5. Automatic loading: If the machine can eject the completed part and pick and load the new blank, it is the next level of automation. The operator's role and required time further gets reduced.

6. Automatic problem detection: If the machine can detect problems in its functioning through sensors, operator is further relieved of some monitoring functions. If a problem is detected, machine will stop and announce the situation through alarms. Operator can come and take care of the problem.

7.Automatic transportation: In this automation step, the completed part of a machining operation is moved to the next machine automatically.

What Baudin emphasizes is that automation is done in steps so that labor productivity increase takes and operators do not lose the jobs all of a sudden. The system's output expands to provide work to all operators and share the productivity benefit. The automation exercise is carried out taking into consideration the stability of the employment.

Principles Underlying Automation in TPS

1. Productivity improvement must not lead to layoffs.

In USA, large automation projects are implemented, layoffs are implemented. Not so in Toyota.

2. Capability of in-house development

Toyota develops capability to do custom development of machines it buys from standard outside vendors.

3. Decentralized control

Two machines can communicate and manage work in between them. Centralized control is not needed for local events.

4. Automation levels and skill management

As automation proceeds step by step on various operators also upgrade themselves step by step. 

Chapter 13 Improving Legacy Automated Systems

In the chapter Baudin discussed the utility of automated production systems or facilities available like transferlines, FMS, rotary index machines and stacked conveyor loops in lean manufacturing systems.

Transfer lines

Transfer lines are arranged in a straight line for convenience of automatic material handling. The manufactured part moves in a fixed sequence through all the machines to become the machined part.

Transfer line is similar to automated machining cell for a group of a parts.

The machines in the transfer line are being replaced by high speed machining centers with pallet exchangers that can machine various features in a single piece production. 

Toyota Engineers

Kiyohide Motiki - Casting Engineer - https://toyotatimes.jp/en/feature/028.html

 GR Company GRZ Chief Engineer Yasunori Suezawa, who had served as Chief Engineer for the Yaris (Toyota Car Model) -  https://toyotatimes.jp/en/chief_editor/065.html

Jidoka - Kiyoshi Suzaki

In the Process of the Challenge, and the Use of the Jidoka Concept

Kiyoshi Suzaki in Target, Spring 1988, pp. 4-9.

What is the target?

Is it to produce required products, at the required time, in the quantity required with highest quality at lowest cost? 

Is it a challenge to continuous improvement? 

Or is it simply the elimination of waste?

Jidoka is to manufacturing what disciplined exercise is to the nervous and muscle systems of our body. As we increase our athletic skills through training, our body eventually responds to necessary changes much more quickly and accurately than before. There is a similar need to train ourselves in manufacturing to compete and survive. But how we can effectively practice this Jidoka concept is clearly the challenge.

.In order to make changes effectively by incorporating people with the Jidoka concept, there are a few points worth summarizing:

1. Persons in charge of operations (operators) should satisfy their customer's needs (that is, the next process) in cost, quality, and delivery according to the prescribed standards. Naturally, this practice of following the standard procedure requires discipline.

2. Supervisors) should  solve problems exposed from the procedures currently in place. Without standards, we can see no abnormality. If standards are not practiced by subordinates, the supervisor is not fulfilling his role.

3. Production managers  should have an even broader knowledge, balanced perspective, a higher level of commitment to achieve goals, and the ability to lead the organization toward such goals. This person should be able to develop or introduce new standards on Jidoka mechanisms (Process and process improvement) into the organization and make sure each procedure, standard, and mechanism is well maintained.

Jidoka - More Online Resources

What Exactly Is Jidoka?

July 17, 2018 by Christoph Roser

https://www.allaboutlean.com/jidoka-1/

https://mag.toyota.co.uk/jidoka-toyota-production-system/

https://www.apo-tokyo.org/resources/p_glossary/jidoka-2/

https://leanmanufacturing.online/jidoka/

https://in.kaizen.com/blog/post/2016/10/12/jidoka-the-forgotten-pillar.html

Ohno's goals for Jidoka

http://www.process-improvement-japan.com/toyota-history.html

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3738342  41 page book

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405896319312844  Article in science direct.

Rethinking Jidoka Systems under Automation & Learning Perspectives in the Digital Lean Manufacturing World

DavidRomero1 PaoloGaiardelli2 DarylPowell3 ThorstenWuest4 MatthiasThürer5

IFAC-PapersOnLine, Volume 52, Issue 13, 2019, Pages 899-903

An Application of SMED and Jidoka in Lean Production

January 2019

DOI:10.1007/978-3-319-92267-6_45

In book: Proceedings of the International Symposium for Production Research 2018 (pp.530-545)

Authors:

Mahmut Tekin et al.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327041611_An_Application_of_SMED_and_Jidoka_in_Lean_Production

Jidoka means “Intelligent people and machines." 

Masters Thesis

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1417715/FULLTEXT01.pdf

https://michelbaudin.com/tag/jidoka/

Recent References - Jidoka

Ansari et al., 2018a

F. Ansari, S. Erol, W. Sihn

"Rethinking Human-Machine Learning in Industry 4.0: How Does the Paradigm Shift Treat the Role of Human Learning?"

Procedia Manufacturing: 8th Conference on Learning Factories - Advanced Engineering Education & Training for Manufacturing Innovation, 23 (2018), pp. 117-122

Ansari et al., 2018b

F. Ansari, M. Khobreh, U. Seidenberg, W. Sihn

"A Problem-Solving Ontology for Human-Centered Cyber Physical Production Systems"

CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology, 22 (2018), pp. 91-106

Bainbridge, 1983

L. Bainbridge

"Ironies of Automation"

Automatica, 19 (6) (1983), pp. 775-779

Baxter et al., 2012

Baxter, G.; Rooksby, J.; Wang, Y. and Khajeh-Hosseini, A. (2012). "The Ironies of Automation… Still Going Strong at 30?", 30th European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics, pp. 65-71.

Billings, 1996

C.E. Billings

"Aviation Automation: The Search for a Human-Centered Approach", CRC Press (1996)

Bao et al., 2018

Z. Bao, Y. Wang, Z. Yang, C. Zhu, C. Jin

"Design on the Virtual Maintenance Training System of Some-Type Equipment Based on the Virtual Reality"

International Conference on Man-Machine-Environment System Engineering, Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 527 (2018), pp. 479-487

Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh, 1995

L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh

"Introduction: Towards Balanced Automation", Balanced Automation Systems: Architectures and Methods, Springer (1995), pp. xi-xii

Camarinha-Matos and Afsarmanesh, 1996

L.M. Camarinha-Matos, H. Afsarmanesh

"Introduction: Implementation Challenges for Balanced Automation", Balanced Automation Systems II: Implementation Challenges for Anthropocentric Manufacturing, Springer (1996), pp. xiii-xiv

Camarinha-Matos et al., 1997

L.M. Camarinha-Matos, R. Rabelo, L. Osório

"Balanced Automation", in Management and Control of Manufacturing Systems, S.G. Tzafestas (Ed.), Springer-Verlag (1997), pp. 376-413

Chen et al., 2010

H. Chen, R.R. Lindeke, D.A. Wyrick

"Lean Automated Manufacturing: Avoiding the Pitfalls to Embrace the Opportunities"

Assembly Automation, 30 (2) (2010), pp. 117-123

Hold et al., 2017

P. Hold, S. Erol, G. Reisinger, W. Sihn

"Planning and Evaluation of Digital Assistance Systems"

Procedia Manufacturing: 7th Conference of Learning Factories, 9 (2017), pp. 143-150

Jackson et al., 2011

M. Jackson, M. Hedelind, E. Hellstrӧm, A. Granlund, N. Friedler

"Lean Automation: Requirements and Solutions for Efficient Use of Robot Automation in the Swedish Manufacturing Industry"

International Journal of Engineering Research and Innovation, 3 (2) (2011), pp. 36-43

Kelleher et al., 2015

J.D. Kelleher, B. Mac Namee, A. D’Arcy

"Fundamentals of Machine Learning for Predictive Data Analytics: Algorithms, Worked Examples, and Case Studies", MIT Press (2015), pp. 1-3

17, 117, 179, 247, 323.

Lenz et al., 2018

J. Lenz, T. Wuest, E. Westkaemper

"Holistic Approach to Machine Tool Data Analytics"

Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 48 (2018), pp. 180-191

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmsy.2018.03.003.

Mora et al., 2017

E. Mora, P. Gaiardelli, B. Resta, D. Powell

"Exploiting Lean Benefits Through Smart Manufacturing: A Comprehensive Perspective", The Path to Intelligent, Collaborative and Sustainable Manufacturing, Lödding, H. et al. (Eds.), IFIP, APMS, AICT 513, Part I, Springer (2017), pp. 127-134

Romero et al., 2016a

D. Romero, P. Bernus, O. Noran, J. Stahre, Å. Fast-Berglund

"The Operator 4.0: Human Cyber-Physical Systems & Adaptive Automation towards Human-Automation Symbiosis Work Systems", Production Management Initiatives for a Sustainable World, Nääs, I. et al. (Eds.), IFIP, AICT 488, Springer (2016), pp. 677-686

Romero et al., 2016

Romero, D.; Stahre, J.; Wuest, T.; Noran, O.; Bernus, P.; Fast-Berglund, Å. and Gorecky, D. (2016b). "Towards an Operator 4.0 Typology: A Human-Centric Perspective on the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies", International Conference on Computers & Industrial Engineering, Tianjin, China, pp. 1-11.

Romero et al., 2018

D. Romero, P. Gaiardelli, D. Powell, T. Wuest, M. Thürer

"Digital Lean Cyber-Physical Production Systems: The Emergence of Digital Lean Manufacturing and the Significance of Digital Waste"

Part I, IFIP AICT, 535 (2018), pp. 11-20

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T.B. Sheridan, R. Parasuraman

"Human-Automation Interaction"

Reviews of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 1 (89) (2015), pp. 89-129

Google Scholar

Sezer et al., 2018

Sezer, E.; Romero, D. Guedea, F.; Macchi, M. and Emmanouilidis, C. (2018)."An Industry 4.0-enabled Low Cost Predictive Maintenance Approach for SMEs:AUse Case Appliedto aCNC Turning Centre", 24th International ICE-Conference on Engineering, Technology and Innovation, pp. 1-8, DOI: 10.1109/ICE.2018.8436307.

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IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems, 48 (5) (2017), pp. 419-433

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S. Webel, U. Bockholt, T. Engelke, N. Gavish, M. Olbrich, C. Preusche

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Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 61 (4) (2013), pp. 398-403

Systematic combination of Lean Management with digitalization to improve production systems on the example of Jidoka 4.0

Jochen Deuse, Uwe Dombrowski, Fabian Nöhring, ...

International Journal of Engineering Business Management

First Published August 25, 2020 Research Article

https://doi.org/10.1177/1847979020951351

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1847979020951351   - Open Access

Meanings   自働化 - Jidoka or Jidouka - Japanese - English

jidoka (自働化)（じどうか jidouka),

Entry Details for 自働化

Definition and Synonyms for 自働化

1. 自動化 高度な技術を用いた手段

Automation the act of implementing the control of equipment with advanced technology

Synonyms: 機械化, 自動化

2. 自動化 自動にする、制御するまたは自動に作動する

Automate make automatic or control or operate automatically

Synonyms: 自動化

3. 自動化 自動制御または操作を達成させるのに使用される装置

Automation equipment used to achieve automatic control or operation

Synonyms: 自動化

4. 自動化 自動的に操作または制御される状態

Automation the condition of being automatically operated or controlled

Synonyms: 自動化

5. 自動化 通常電子ハードウェアを含むこと

Automation usually involving electronic hardware

Synonyms: 機械化, 自動化

https://www.tanoshiijapanese.com/dictionary/entry_details.cfm?entry_id=30456&element_id=41599

kikai (Japanese)

Romanization

kikai

Romaji transcription of きかい

This is the meaning of きかい:

きかい (Japanese)

Noun

きかい

機会: opportunity

機械, 器械: machine

奇怪: strange, mysterious

棋界: the shogi world

https://www.wordsense.eu/kikai/

自動化, 自働化, じどうか

jidōka

Definition:  automation

Related Kanji

自

oneself

動

move, motion, change, confusion, shift, shake

化

change, take the form of, influence, enchant, delude, -ization

働

work, (kokuji)

https://nihongomaster.com/japanese/dictionary/word/30387/jidouka

自働化

Meaning of 自働化 in Japanese

It seems that your search contains the follows:

自  働化

Definition of 自働化

じどうかjidouka  【 自動化 ·自働化 】自動化働 Kanji Details

(n, vs) automation

http://www.romajidesu.com/dictionary/meaning-of-%E8%87%AA%E5%83%8D%E5%8C%96.html

Automation of Operations in Flow Process Chart

Automated Manufacturing - Production Operations in Manufacturing Processes

Automated Inspection - Bibliography

Automated Material Handling - Transport - Bibliography 

Automated Storage and Warehousing - Storage Operation Improvement in Engineering Processes

Automation for Preventing Temporary Delays - Lean WIP Processes - Systems

MACHINE EFFORT INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING - Neglected Component of Industrial Engineering of F.W. Taylor.

"Through this lowering of the selling price the whole public, the buyer and user, of the joint product of the labor and machinery have profited by getting what they buy cheaper." - Taylor in Testimony.

Note products of industrial establishments are the joint product of the labor and machinery.

Celebrate the birthday of F.W. Taylor in your Industrial Engineering Department and Company. Share what you are implementing in your company from Taylor's Ideas.

Birthday of F.W. Taylor 20th March. Modern Industrial Engineering March  2026 Issue - Taylor Month of IE - Contribution of F.W. Taylor to Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management - Implemented and Neglected

Access Essays on F.W. Taylor's Writing - Belt Drive Design, Productivity System and Section, Shop Management, Productivity Science of Machining, and Scientific Management

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/march-2026-issue-taylor-month-ie-contribution-fw-industrial-kvss-71nlc

Updated on 14.1.2025, 10.8.2023,  7.10.2021, 20 May 2021,  3 May 2021

Published on 24 April 2021