Chem321:Toyota Production System

Industrial models  have changed tremendously over time.  One of the biggest changes has been the development of mass production.  Mass production was developed once reliable energy sources could be exploited.  The industrial model for many years focused primarily on mass production in order to reduce costs and  maximize profits.  However, many companies started to explore other options for exceeding and achieving these goals.  With modern constraints on pollution, companies developed ways to create less waste through lean manufacturing processes. 

Ford's assembly line revolutionized mass production and industry forever. By implementing the  principles of Frederick Taylor's scientific management, Ford improved the simplicity of production through mechanization and efficiency. Ford could produce more cars than any other companies at the time while making them cost effective so that many people could afford them.  However, Ford put little emphasis on much else than production efficiency and his production was certainly not lean by todays standards.

One company that has successfully implemented lean manufacturing has been Toyota.  Their businesses model is loosely based on that of Fordism with a modern twist of lean manufacturing principles.  The main goal of lean manufacturing is to produce more with less, creating less waste, less labor, less time, less space, and less money.  This system makes a connection between the reduction of  wastes and how cost benefits and the environment are linked, an association than many overlook because of the initial cost.

Toyota has improved its manufacturing process primarily by eliminating all types of waste derived from waste, unevenness, and overburden.  Toyota has declared an imaginary yet real war on what it calls the seven deadly wastes: overproduction, transportation, inventory, motion, over-processing, and defects. All of these wastes reduce profitability, efficiency and are worse for the environment.  

Toyota prevents overproduction by eliminating production ahead of demand.  This ensures that resources are not wasted on products that are not going to be purchased immediately which is good for the environment.  This also ensures that prices for the product remain high because production isn't outstripping demand and that the product is not being produced without buyers.  It also limits the amount of time a company has to extend a line of credit on the product before someone buys it.  

Furthermore, because Toyota only matches the pace of production with customer demand and the company is dedicated to having as small of overhead inventory as possible, Toyota only orders as many parts as it takes to build cars that people have bought.  This is more efficient because Toyota is not holding on to parts it will never use.  Its also better for the environment since suppliers are not wasting resources and associated wastes on parts that will never be used.

Unnecessary transportation is also avoided in the lean manufacturing process by not moving products that are not actually required to preform processing.  This costs less because less shipping is required and thus it is better for the environment because it less fossil fuels are burned for transportation.  For example, Toyota has plants in Kentucky, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and West Virginia that supply the United States with many of their cars instead of manufacturing cars in Japan and transporting them to the U.S.  Many of the parts for these cars are also manufactured in the U.S. too.  

Since transports are limited in any way they can be, there is less need to store store parts in distribution warehouses because the parts do not usually have to be loaded on ships to cross the ocean and transported by trucks to manufacturing facilities.  Since Toyota only produces enough vehicles that customers can purchase at a given time, there is less need to store vehicles before they are sold.  This saves money because extra warehouses don't need to be built to house inventory.  It is also good for the environment because land doesn't need to cleared to build unnecessary facilities, materials and energy are saved because there is no need for construction materials for the unnecessary facility.

Toyota's manufacturing facilities are designed with lots of thought about how to achieve each step efficiently, utilizing every machine and worker's motion so that all the plants' energy is optimized.  Each machine is among the best on the market.  Each step is simple and each worker focuses on one area. This allows for efficient and reliable steps in the process that produce less defects and allows each step to be effectively inspected for defects.  This ensures there is less waste since energy is not being wasted on unnecessary steps and less waste is produced because there are less parts that need to be scrapped because of defects which is better for the environment.

Toyota's production system produces some of the most reliable vehicles in the world, which last longer than most other manufacturer's models.  This allows cars to be used much longer before being recycled, which is better for the environment since there is a loss of raw materials each time they are recycled.  However, there are also problems created because of this.  Longer use can prevent individuals from buying newer, more efficient vehicles that use less fossil fuels to operate.

There are other problems with Toyota's lean manufacturing process.  Because the manufacturing process is broken down into simple steps, workers specialize in a trade and are very inflexible to change.  This makes it hard to introduce new products.  Also, this results in low worker "ownership" in the manufacturing of each car, since it is hard for them to see beyond the simple task they perform each day.  This can result in manufacturing products that technologically behind their competition.  Also, large investment in a manufacturing process may make it less attractive to change processes to meet the demand of the consumer.  This can lead to the production of reliable yet low tech products that are less efficient to operate which would have a negative impact on the environment.

Also, the goals of reducing transportation costs can lead to using suppliers who supply inferior products than those close by.  For example, maybe parts made in the U.S. are more expensive and worse for the environment than parts made in Germany that are derived from renewable resources and less expensive.  Maybe not the case but certainly a possibility.  The lean manufacturing process is simple in many ways but can become complicated and inflexible in many ways as things change over time.  

While lean manufacturing has many advantages, they can also create weaknesses.  Investing in one type of production can lead a company down a path to dependency.  Once they are dependent, they become less innovative and flexible to changes in the market and may be leapfrogged by the competition and products may become technologically irrelevant.  It is apparent that research and reinvestment would be a crucial aspect of running a company in this manor in order to maintain market dominance.

One of Ford's most successful vehicles was the Model T, which sold in record numbers for many years.  It was well built, reliable, and available at a relatively low cost.  However, Ford became increasingly dependent on that one particular model.  Demand was changing and consumers began to buy other vehicles with new styling, larger engines and new technologies.  As a result, Ford began to struggle to keep market dominance.  In lean manufacturing, it is much easier to become dependent on a production design because changes require you not only to redesign the product but also redesign the production processes efficiently.

Toyota's vehicles often do not change in design much after being redesigned and many of their models remain unchanged for many years before any changes are made.  Compared to other vehicles on the road, their designs are much more conservative and less revolutionary.  Many consumers find them reliable yet uninspiring.  While this may be only opinion, it is evident that lean manufacturing has a effect on the conservative design of Toyota vehicles. However, reliability and low cost of ownership has made the company one of the largest auto manufacturers in the world. 

In conclusion, the main goal of lean manufacturing is to produce more with less, creating less waste, less labor, less time, less space, and less money. Its better for the environment and a company's budget. This is in many ways an improvement over the tradition mass production model where little emphasis was put on the reduction of wastes.  However, lean manufacturing can be complex and inflexible to changes and this can act as a handicap against your competition.

Maxwelk192 (talk) 14:31, 16 August 2012 (EDT)