The Toyota Way in Services: The Case of Lean Product Development

Abstract

Toyota's Production System (TPS) is based on "lean" principles including a focus on the customer, continual improvement and quality through waste reduction, and tightly integrated upstream and downstream processes as part of a lean value chain. Most manufacturing companies have adopted some type of "lean initiative," and the lean movement recently has gone beyond the shop floor to white-collar offices and is even spreading to service industries. Unfortunately, most of these efforts represent limited, piecemeal approaches-quick fixes to reduce lead time and costs and to increase quality-that almost never create a true learning culture. We outline and illustrate the management principles of TPS that can be applied beyond manufacturing to any technical or service process. It is a true systems approach that effectively integrates people, processes, and technology-one that must be adopted as a continual, comprehensive, and coordinated effort for change and learning across the organization.

Lean production tools and decision latitude enable conditions for innovative learning in organizations: A multilevel analysis

“…Resource reduction explains no variance in the outcome compared with the empty model. Reduction of excess time, inventories and buffers is considered to reveal problems in the work process and facilitate improvements (Liker & Morgan, 2006); however, it appears to have a minimal positive effect on the innovative learning climate and collective dispersion of ideas. Lean production can be considered a rationalization concept, removing unnecessary actions and material (Westgaard & Winkel, 2010), and resource reduction is commonly applied (Pettersen, 2009).…”

“…Standardization of the work process could provide an overall known standard and a foundation for improvements, and reduce unnecessary tasks that might otherwise cause strain and hinder involvement in problem solving (Liker & Morgan, 2006). Visual monitoring and housekeeping could facilitate communication, cooperation and participation within the work group (Liker & Meier, 2006).…”

“…Lean production tools are often implemented in order to eliminate non-value-adding activities and 4 reduce variability in the work process, without considering the lean production philosophy (Shah & Ward, 2001;Radnor, Holweg & Waring, 2012;Joosten, Bongers, & Janssen, 2009;Mazzocato, Savage, Brommels, Aronsson & Thor, 2010). It is often argued that failure to consider the holistic, process view of lean production and the socio-technical aspects of the interaction between human behaviour and operational tools leads to restricted success (Liker & Morgan, 2006;Joosten et al, 2009;Mazzocato et al, 2010;Radnor et al, 2012). If aspects of lean production is combined with socio-technical thinking, where the social as well as the technical system of the organization are considered and aspects such as work content and variation, learning, decision making, recognition and coherence are acknowledged (Thorsrud & Emery, 1969), this may have beneficial effects on the work environment (Seppälä & Klemola, 2004).…”

“…Resource reduction (i.e. reducing set-up time, lead time, inventories and buffers) aims to reveal problems in the work process and facilitate just-in-time production (Liker & Morgan, 2006). Value flow analysis, mapping or flow-charting the operations, identifies the specific actions required to bring a specific product through the entire work process and reduce the steps that create no value (Womack & Jones, 1996).…”

“…Housekeeping,or 5S (i.e. sorting out what is wasteful, straightening up and putting in its right place, shining and keeping tidy, standardizing, and sustaining this housekeeping process), is a way of maintaining visual control, standardizing and facilitating communication and participation in the work process (Liker & Meier, 2006;Liker & Morgan, 2006). …”