Toyota Production System (TPS)

虽然我的背景是TQM，但是我从George Group 的Lean 6Sigma BB训练中学到不少Toyota Production System (TPS) 和如何应用那些统计学的东西，我也不憎恨美式管理，因为我也从那里学到不少，获得不少好处。我只是想提出一些心得供诸位参考。在90年代初，我接受了Deming思想训练也非常欣赏和同意他提出的许多看法，譬如the 14 Points，continuous process improvement through metrics，profound knowledge 等。在同时期我也觉得Toyota人Masaaki Imai宣扬的Kaizen (改善) 很有道理，非常对胃口。俗话说，条条大路通罗马，但是罗马例底不是一天就可以造成的。品质的进步需要长时间的改善，需要文化上的革新，culture change。要革新文化，在一个企业裹已经很不容易，何况是一个社会，一个国家？Kaizen讲的是incremental improvement，也就是一步一脚印脚踏实地慢慢来。其中士氣的维持是很重要的一环。当然，这些都不符合美国的汉堡式文化 (快，大，多)。

Lean Six Sigma 训练带给我的感觉是一连串的Toyota Production System (TPS) 採用的Pull和JIT等方法，虽然也提到过Kaizen，但却是很快地带过(或许因为是在美国的关系?)。以下是一篇有关TPS的文章供诸位参攷。

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Toyota_Way

Since Toyota’s founding we have adhered to the core principle of contributing to society through the practice of manufacturing high-quality
products and services. Our business practices and activities based on this
core principle created values, beliefs and business methods that over the
years have become a source of competitive advantage.These are the managerial values and business methods that are known collectively as
the Toyota Way.
—Fujio Cho, (張 富士夫)是现任Toyota总裁兼CEO
(from the Toyota Way document, 2001)

The Toyota Way Is More than Tools and Techniques
So you set up your kanban system. 当你使用看板(Kanban is the Japanese word for “card,” “ticket,” or “sign” and is a tool for managing the flow and production of materials in a Toyota-style “pull” production system.) You plug in the andon, 竖起三色告警灯which is a visual control device in a production area that alerts workers to defects, equipment abnormalities, or other problems using signals such as lights, audible alarms, etc. 和警报器装置Finally, with these devices your workplace looks like a Toyota
plant. 看来就像个Toyota工廒Yet, over time your workplace reverts to operating like it did before. 但是操作起来好像同以前没有两样You call in a Toyota Production System (TPS) expert who shakes her head disapprovingly.所以你召来了TPS专家，她看了直摇头。What is wrong? 倒底错在那里？

The real work of implementing Lean has just begun. Your workers do not
understand the culture behind TPS. 问题出在员工们不了解TPS背後的Toyota文化。They are not contributing to the continuous improvement of the system or improving themselves. In the Toyota Way, it’s the people who bring the system to life: working, communicating, resolving issues, and growing together. Toyota文化主要的是人。From the first look at excellent companies in Japan practicing lean manufacturing, it was clear that the workers were active in making improvement suggestions. But the Toyota Way goes well beyond this; it encourages, supports, and in fact demands employee involvement.

The more I have studied TPS and the Toyota Way, the more I understand that
it is a system designed to provide the tools for people to continually improve their work. 和在工作上不断地改进 The Toyota Way means more dependence on people, not less. It is a culture, even more than a set of efficiency and improvement techniques. You depend upon the workers to reduce inventory, identify hidden problems, and fix them. The workers have a sense of urgency, purpose, and teamwork because if they don’t fix
it there will be an inventory outage. On a daily basis, engineers, skilled workers, quality specialist, vendors, team leaders, and—most importantly—operators are all involved in continuous problem solving and improvement, which over time trains everyone to become better problem solvers.