I was going to give this book four stars, but I was going to be unfair with it. This is not a guide to create a lean enterprise, it was not meant to be one and I was going to judge it as if it was.

This is a great introduction to the Toyota Production System and lean philosophy, by nobody else but the architect of the system.

It had been a long time since I read such a dense book about any subject. If you are interested in getting started in the Lean methodologies then this book is a must read. If you work in a manufacturing plant or are in management then the insight on this book will be valuable for the rest of your life. I recommend it to my boss along with the Toyota Way because I think we need to start implementing all the techniques and management principles, specially when it comes to Human Resource management and policies, that made the Toyota the world leader it is.

A+.

A "must read" for anyone in manufacturing. It is the basis for all modern manufacturing, and for any business process or flow. The author describes the two pillars of the Toyota production system as autonomation and just-in-time. He explaines the six rules associated with the kanban. He also describes the seven wastes and the value of asking "Why" five times. The book is very easy and quick reading, and provides a complete backgroung to the Toyota development and success.

Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production
Great tool for understanding basics and roots of TPS

"Toyota Production System" was published in 1979 in Japanese and, in English in 1988. It is the source material on the toyota production system and, in my view, it is often good to go back to the source. Sadly, I found this book disappointing. The writing style is clunky (perhaps a poor translation) and the book lacks structure; being more of a semi-random collection of points than a development of ideas. Nevertheless there is some interesting stuff in here. The honesty that this is a long slow process (taking Toyota 30+ years) is refreshing, and I hadn't realised that Mr Ohno ranked kanban (with quick changeovers) as the core of the system and essential to success. Often in lean kanban seems to be a bit of a side issue: here it is vital. Also there is an interesting analysis of some of Henry Ford's early writings compared to TPS. This would be good material for a student essay. However, for the philosophy of TPS you will get much more out of "The Toyota Way" or "The Toyota Way Fieldbook"; and for the tools of lean go to "Lean Production Simplified" or the many other books in this area. Overall this book is a bit of a let-down I am sad to say.

I got this as a present for my father for his birthday last weekend. He has already started reading it and making notes. It is everything we hoped it would be and met his expectations. I would recommend it for marketing students, teachers, and anyone interested in that type of thing.

There are many myths around the Toyota Production System (TPS). Ohno Taiichi merits my deepest respects, considering he was able almost a half century ago to observe and learn from others. Considering the simple target given to him, to "catch up with America" he studied in-depth the work of Ford and recognised the idea of copying the US supermarket system for his operational purpose.



The book describes very well what constraints he was given from the owners when Toyota started to get into the automotive business and what path they followed until the first fully operated TPS plant went operational at the 60s.



Many thinkings of Ohno Taiichi are still actual. He is capable of bringing key problems to the point: efficiency gains are worthless until they really lead to cost reduction. Unfortunatelly we all now the opposite from this wisdom - and many "growth-strategies" of companies today are nothing else than to try to increase business with the same workforce. Furthermore the author gives good examples how Toyota handled different issues, as e.g. the syncronization of production with final assembly.



The reader will not find any operational theory or formulas in this book and if you are looking for books teaching you about designing and sizing Pull-systems you should look for books as "Kanban made simple" or similar. TPS is not about installing software than about eliminating everything which is waste and does mainly not contribute to the succes of your business.



Anyway this book is a must read for any readers interested in first hand information about the basis that made TMC what they are today - a business model developed by smart people many years ago and dearing to ask simple questions, to find sound and robust solutions and to steadily develop the system and its people working in it.



My deepest respect to Ohno Taiichi,

Domo arrigato,



Oliver

There are many myths around the Toyota Production System (TPS). Ohno Taiichi merits my deepest respects, considering he was able almost a half century ago to observe and learn from others. Considering the simple target given to him, to "catch up with America" he studied in-depth the work of Ford and recognised the idea of copying the US supermarket system for his operational purpose.

The book describes very well what constraints he was given from the owners when Toyota started to get into the automotive business and what path they followed until the first fully operated TPS plant went operational at the 60s.

Many thinkings of Ohno Taiichi are still actual. He is capable of bringing key problems to the point: efficiency gains are worthless until they really lead to cost reduction. Unfortunatelly we all now the opposite from this wisdom - and many "growth-strategies" of companies today are nothing else than to try to increase business with the same workforce. Furthermore the author gives good examples how Toyota handled different issues, as e.g. the syncronization of production with final assembly.

The reader will not find any operational theory or formulas in this book and if you are looking for books teaching you about designing and sizing Pull-systems you should look for books as "Kanban made simple" or similar. TPS is not about installing software than about eliminating everything which is waste and does mainly not contribute to the succes of your business.

Anyway this book is a must read for any readers interested in first hand information about the basis that made TMC what they are today - a business model developed by smart people many years ago and dearing to ask simple questions, to find sound and robust solutions and to steadily develop the system and its people working in it.

My deepest respect to Ohno Taiichi,
Domo arrigato,

Oliver

For all the people searching a new way to lead & achieve new innovations, is a good example of attitud & ideas for that purpose. After a war between ownselfes & paradigms a Japanese discovered the importance of loose fear, achieving several succesfuly goals in his Company & in his Country.

For all the people searching a new way to lead & achieve new innovations, is a good example of attitud & ideas for that purpose. After a war between ownselfes & paradigms a Japanese discovered the importance of loose fear, achieving several succesfuly goals in his Company & in his Country.

"Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production" is a very enlightening work by the inventor of lean manufacturing, Taiichi Ohno. This small book is packed with insights and ideas on how to efficiently and effectively run a production system. The Toyota Production is also known as lean manufacturing, entails, among other things, minimising waste through continuous improvement and producing only what is sold, as requested by the customer. This unique and innovative system explains why Toyota makes profits even in tough times when other competitor firms are losing money.

The book explains this fascinating subject in a simple and easy to read and understand way that makes it accessible to a wide range of readers. Among the things that I found very interesting was the concept of zero defects, production load-levelling, standardised work and just-in-time delivery.

The book is very enlightening reading for those involved in any production process.

Great! Enlightening AND an interesting read. So good I bought an extra copy to give as a gift.

Great! Enlightening AND an interesting read. So good I bought an extra copy to give as a gift.

The Toyota Production System provides fantastic insight into the genius of Toyota and how implementing Lean Principles or Continuos Improvement can help eliminate waste. Whether your new to Lean or need a jump start, this is a great book.

This book gives some real insight into the how the "Toyota Production System" actually gets results -- not the mess you hear consultants preaching about on every street corner.

I think that to understand the "Toyota Production System," you need to understand that these guys were only trying to eliminate waste. 5-S, Kanban, Kaizen, Lean, Poka-yoke, SMED, and 1-piece flow were solutions to problems that they encountered when trying to get rid of the waste.

This is why the Consultant's shiny new silver bullet doesn't work for many companies -- they just don't get it. The solutions listed above are ways to solve specific problems such as inventory losses, bad quality, long wait times, production bottle necks, etc.... They aren't really "Methods" in themselves to analyze a problem.... just the solutions they found effective.

This book gives some real insight into the how the "Toyota Production System" actually gets results -- not the mess you hear consultants preaching about on every street corner.

I think that to understand the "Toyota Production System," you need to understand that these guys were only trying to eliminate waste. 5-S, Kanban, Kaizen, Lean, Poka-yoke, SMED, and 1-piece flow were solutions to problems that they encountered when trying to get rid of the waste.

This is why the Consultant's shiny new silver bullet doesn't work for many companies -- they just don't get it. The solutions listed above are ways to solve specific problems such as inventory losses, bad quality, long wait times, production bottle necks, etc.... They aren't really "Methods" in themselves to analyze a problem.... just the solutions they found effective.

After 30 years of manufacturing experience and thinking I am very knowledgeable of Lean Manufacturing systems, it came to my surprise that one book written almost 30 years ago would teach me all the things I take now for granted without knowing that all this knowledge came from the mind of one man and his fellows at Toyota. My hat is down for Mr. Taiichi Onno. I now have a better understanding of his teachings and I believe that the Toyota Production System will be the do facto standard for manufacturing in the years to follow. I wonder if it is ready for and ISO standandard...

There are lots of things we can learn from the Japanese. What I learned a lot from this book is the thought process that was behind developing there systems (just in time and "autonomation"). Knowing that they couldn't compete in the same methods as the Americans, the Japanese invented a system whose intent was to remove waste in all aspects of production.

After only reading a few pages of this book I could see that this Toyota has a lethal weapon in business that American companies seen not interested in using - or worse think that thay are using it just fine? Compare "TPS" with "My Years With General Motors" and imagaine who you would rather compete with? Demming said something like "export everything from America... except american management!" This book will show you why.
This book is not a "ISO" type blueprint in that it is a consise overview without much "filler" or stale requirements so don't worry if you donot get the big picture until you have read and maybe reread the book.
One note - I think that just maybe (if I can be so bold) that chapter 3 should be read first then the rest of the book. I also recomend other books (and web searches) on Kaizen by those who have done it for as long as Mr. Ohno.
I love this book!

I really enjoyed reading Mr. Ohno's book. Even though it is a short book, it is full of ideas that can be applied to any production bussiness.
Even though that the system was created for a car production facility, the concept of "waste" is useful to any type of manufacturing. This idea, coupled with the concept of producing exactly what is sold ( or what the client requests )allows any company to became profitable in times when profit margins get narrower and narrower.

I am a former Toyota Engineer and recommend that anyone interested in learning about the Toyota Production System a.k.a. lean manufacturing this is the place to start. Mr. Ohno is the creator of TPS and he gives a very good overview of how the system works. The book is very easy to read and easy to understand. This book should be read by all upper management employees looking to create a lean environment in their plants. The book will give you a good foundation to start implementing the techniques. It is the best book to read considering it comes from the inventor himself. It is the best you are going to find shy of being actually trained within Toyota's walls.

This is a short book and as such gets to the point. Explains difficult concepts in a simple way. This book explains how JIT, Kanban, Zero Defects came about. Also shows what is missing from American JIT and that is production leveling.

Mr. Ohno is the father of Toyota's just in time production system, also called lean manufacturing, though it is more than just that. The book gives an excellent primer on the basic principles of JIT, work-flow, leveling, waste minimization, etc. He also covers the history and application of these philosophies at Toyota. The book is a surprisingly good read, and Mr. Ohno's dynamic and engaging personality shows through. A must read for MBA students, persons in manufacturing or occupations where time is money.