We have produced a short report (
396.31 KB) which describes our observations of the factory and how lean concepts and tools are used to improve processes and systems.
In 2010 Toyota is expected to become the world’s leading producer of motor vehicles, overtaking General Motors and Ford. Toyota is a world class producer in its field and has a history of being innovative and developing new products. It has a reputation for excellence in quality, cost reduction and exceeding customers’ expectations.
Toyota designed a specific NHS day to meet the demand from NHS organisations.
In the NHS we need to improve productivity, reduce waste and lower costs. This visit was arranged to learn from Toyota’s expertise and experience, provide inspiration for what is possible in healthcare and to motivate the NHS to find out more about the philosophy that has made them so successful.
About 40 staff from the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust, Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Trust, Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust and Staffordshire and Shropshire procurement (part of the Strategic Health Authority) took part in the visit.
In the NHS we need to improve productivity, reduce waste and lower costs. This visit was arranged to learn from Toyota’s expertise and experience, provide inspiration for what is possible in healthcare and to motivate the NHS to find out more about the philosophy that has made them so successful.
Did you know?
- Toyota has the fastest product development process in the world. New cars take 12 months or less to design, while competitors typically require two to three years.
- Worldwide Toyota produces one car every six seconds. A total of six million cars are made annually. Toyota is the first car manufacturer to produce zero waste for landfill.
- A Corolla comes off the production line every 101 seconds.
- They only keep enough parts on site for one shift's amount of work (minimising storage costs).
- They use music to alert the team leaders that there are problems on the production line. This can be heard throughout factory.
- They use five categories of measures to monitor performance - Safety, People, Quality, Delivery and Cost.
- Staff are called 'Members'.
- Standardised work and the continuous development of standardised work was used to motivate members.
- Managers don’t have offices – all open plan. They are expected to spend the majority of their time on the shop floor – where the value is added.
- They constantly strive for continuous improvement and have respect for people. Every manager’s role was based solely around the rule of creating and maintaining an environment conducive to continuous improvement.