Ch. 4: Toyota's Proven Production System

Just last night I watched the sixth episode in the first season of Jack Ryan, where they seemed to push Toyota's quality over other vehicle manufacturers'. It was a drug lord in Turkey that stated, “we will take your trucks because you have the best trucks”. He later detailed inside the truck as to why Toyota was the best all around vehicle there is. I am quite certain that Toyota had to pay a pretty penny to get that added in there. But, it goes along well with our topic today. This blog will discuss Toyota's production system and why other companies haven't been able to implement the well-proven structure, despite their transparent offering of how it is done. 

Jack Ryan Episode 6, Season 1 (Carter, 2018)

Toyota has made it fairly easy for competitors to view their production lines and has books that describe their management principles and 4 P's. The Toyota Way Fieldbook, which describes the latter, is even available for free on issuu (Betsy, 2015). One of the co-author's, Jeffrey Liker, who is a partner in the Toyota Way Academy, has also authored and co-authored numerous books and articles on the topic of Toyota. Below are just a few. 

Picture snip from Google search for Jeffrey Liker books

So why is it that despite all these books, articles, and transparent offerings to view production lines, that no one seems able to replicate or plug in Toyota's Production System (TPS)? According to Karn Bulsuk, companies are not implementing all processes and are only attempting to implement bits and pieces of it to no avail (Bulsuk, 2013). This is reiterated in the text where it discusses how Toyota's array of interlocked system of activities have led to their overall success and profitability (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). It goes on to discuss how these interlocked activities of the TPS promotes learning and uninterrupted improvements on the manufacturing line. Both Bulsuk and the text authors discuss another strength area of allowing employee's to streamline the development by identifying and implementing other processes to improve comprehensive processes. In a sense the employees have become integral, utilizing a more integral engineering approach. This trial and error depiction better allows for mistakes and often leads to efficient improvements (Bulsuk, 2013). 

Despite all the books and offerings that allow individuals and other organizations a first real look at the forefront of Toyota's production line, they still continue to have a better offering. It is clear that other companies cannot replicate and implement all the above activities and unless they are able to replicate the employees themselves then Toyota will continue to have a performance edge over their competitors. 

References

• Betsy, M. (2015, April 1). The Toyota Way Fieldbook. Retrieved July 06, 2020, from https://issuu.com/www.windowskeyoffer.com/docs/the_toyota_way_fieldbook
• Bulsuk, K. (2013, March 14). Why the Toyota Production System doesn't always work for others. Retrieved July 06, 2020, from https://www.bulsuk.com/2013/03/why-toyota-production-system-doesnt.html
• Carter, J. (2018, August 31). Jack Ryan episode 6 review: Why do we feel the need to buy a Toyota? Retrieved July 06, 2020, from https://cartermatt.com/322258/jack-ryan-episode-6-review-why-do-we-feel-the-need-to-buy-a-toyota/
• DR. JEFFREY K. LIKER PRESIDENT. (n.d.). Retrieved July 06, 2020, from http://www.likerleanadvisors.com/staff/jeffrey-liker/
• Gulati, R., Mayo, A. J., & Nohria, N. (2016). Management: An integrated approach. Australia: Cengage Learning.
• Liker, J. K., & Meier, D. (2006). The Toyota way fieldbook a practical guide for implementing Toyota's 4Ps. New York: McGraw-Hill.