Core77
e
- Topics
- Features
- Awards
- Careers
-
Firms
- Firms
- Search Firms;
- Firm Projects
- Forums
-
More...
- About Us
- Contact Us
- Advertise
- About
- Terms of Use
Core77 is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
How Toyota Changed the Way We Make Things
…and how their system was inspired by 1950s American supermarkets
By Rain Noe - August 29, 2018
Something every designer knows is that having less makes you more creative. In fact one of the first things we do when beginning a new project is to figure out what the constraints are; having those boundaries to bump up against forces us to innovate.
A particularly profound example of this, which every industrial design student should study, is how TPS--the Toyota Production System--and their kanban, a/k/a lean manufacturing/just-in-time manufacturing methodology, has influenced how things are made all around the world. Not just by Toyota, that is: I witnessed kanban practices during my visits to German power tool manufacturer Festool as well as Jonathan Ward's amazing Icon facility, and everyone from Pixar to Boeing to IBM has borrowed from TPS.
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)
Enter a caption (optional)So what exactly is TPS, and why does it work so well? In this video, Bloomberg succinctly explains not only the system, but how it came about--as a result of having less resources:
-
oFavorite
-
Q3Comment
-
&
Rain Noe
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
Hiring Now See all industrial design jobs
-
Industrial DesignerBarcelona, ConnecticutIMC TOYS, S.A.New -
Product Designer / Project ManagerNew York, New YorkKikkerland Design Inc.Apr 08 -
Industrial Designer needed for beauty tech productSan Francisco, California | Onsite or Remote PossibleCoral LabsApr 07 -
Industrial Designer - Soft Goods Consumer GoodsLawrence, MassachusettsGemlineMar 30 -
Senior Industrial DesignerRaleigh, North CarolinaLaut DesignMar 30
-
K1:1 | with Michael DiTulloA New Core77 video podcast series. Fresh interviews weekly. Subscribe on Youtube.
-
Most Popular
-
Hot On Coroflot
-
Design Jobs
gonca basciftci
Remie Geoffroi
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
How Toyota Changed the Way We Make Things
I am I the only one who thought of the Ron Howard film "Gung Ho"? Lol
Excellent stuff, in engineering school “ the toyota way” and “the goal” where required reading and as well as other itinerationsof continuos improvement. The actual toyota system fell a little out of favor between 2009 and 2012 after the infamous sticky pedals incidents that harmed toyota’s reputation. The principals are solid and used in every good plant, but are not necessarily named after toyota.
For those interested in the subject, have a look at The Machine That Changed the World by Daniel Roos and James P. Womack. They were the ones that brought the Lean Manufacturing systems of the Japenese car manufacturers to light in the 1980's to the Western world. They had lead an international study based in MIT over several years on the subject which lead to their writing of this book.