1. Consider the principles of the Toyota Production System (TPS, which the rest of the world calls just-in-time or lean operations). How do its pieces fit together into a strategic capability? In particular, what are the roles of quality, and of the various activities Toyota pursues to improve quality?
Waste reduction is at the top of the TPS architecture. The methods that help support the goal of waste reduction are JIT (just-in-time) and quality improvement methods. Both require standardization of work to eliminate variability, the flexibility to scale up and down process capacity in response to fluctuations in demand, and a set of human resource management practices.
JIT seeks to synchronize the production flow with demand. Output should be produced exactly when the customer wants it and in the quantity demanded. The three steps toward achieving a JIT process are (in order) as follows: 1. Achieve a one-unit-at-a-time flow: Production plans are designed to avoid large batches of the same variant. Instead, product variants are mixed together on the assembly line (mixed-model production). Also, the physical layout for resources mirrors the process flow to avoid unnecessary transports and reduce need to form transport batches. This way, flow units can flow one unit at a time from one resource to the next. 2. Produce at the rate of customer demand: This step ensures the flow rate is in line with demand. TPS aims at reducing finished goods inventory by operating its production process in synchronization with customer orders. 3. Implement a pull system using kanban or make-to-order production: The pull system addresses work-in-process inventory. The resource furthest downstream is paced by market demand. In addition to its own production, it also relays the demand information to the next station upstream, thus ensuring the upstream resource also is paced