Author Archive: Art Smalley
Art Smalley was fortunate to have been one of the few Americans to work for Toyota in Japan for an extended period of time. From working on assembly lines to maintaining precision equipment to project management he experienced all facets of production life in Toyota. Combined with his proficiency in reading and writing the Japanese language he has keen insights on TPS that few in America possess. Subsequent to Toyota, Art was also director of lean for a large U.S. company that underwent a successful lean implementation program. Additionally he spent several years as a lean expert for the international management consulting firm of McKinsey & Company. “There is a decided over-emphasis in the west on simply using the tools of TPS. More attention needs to be applied on solving systemic manufacturing problems that will generate business results”.
Mr. Shigeo Shingo’s P-Course and Contribution to TPS
Editor’s Note: Isao “Ike” Kato spent 35 years with Toyota Motor Corporation in a variety of management positions in manufacturing, HR, training and development, and supplier development. Early in his career Ike was responsible for guiding external consultant Shigeo Shingo around Toyota facilities. Ike also worked extensively developing training material for TPS under the direction [...]
TWI, TPS and Jidoka
An Interview with Mr. Tomo Harada Tomo “Tom” Harada spent 35 years with Toyota Motor Corporation in a variety of management positions in engineering, maintenance, and manufacturing. Early in his career he helped start the famous Kamigo engine plant where Taiichi Ohno was the original plant manager. Kamigo was Toyota’s first automated plant and a [...]
Equipment Maintenance and TPS
An Interview with Mr. Tomo Harada Tomo “Tom” Harada spent 35 years with Toyota Motor Corporation in a variety of management positions in engineering, maintenance, and manufacturing. Early in his career he helped start the famous Kamigo engine plant where Taiichi Ohno was the original plant manager. Kamigo was Toyota’s first highly automated plant and [...]
TWI Influence on TPS and Kaizen
An Interview with Mr. Isao Kato Isao “Ike” Kato spent 35 years with Toyota Motor Corporation in a variety of management positions in manufacturing, HR, training and development, and supplier development. Early in his career Ike was responsible for guiding external consultant Shigeo Shingo around Toyota facilities. Ike also worked extensively developing training material for [...]
Shigeo Shingo’s Influence on TPS
An Interview with Mr. Isao Kato Editor’s Note: Mr. Smalley has added some additional notes at the end of this article to provide some background and subsequent investigative information. Isao “Ike” Kato spent 35 years with Toyota Motor Corporation in a variety of management positions in manufacturing, HR, training and development, and supplier development. Early [...]
TPS Versus Lean: Additional Perspectives
In a newsletter for Superfactory last year I wrote an article entitled “TPS versus Lean and the Law of Unintended Consequences”. In the article I stated my concern that Lean programs – although well intended and in theory grounded in the roots of the Toyota Production System – often go astray underemphasizing several important dimensions. One [...]
TPS Vs. Lean and the Law of Unintended Consequences
Editor’s Note: This article continues our recent focus on “looking Lean” versus “being Lean”. We have discussed this extensively on the blog. Every couple of years I am fortunate enough to visit a former colleague’s Toyota Motor Corporation plant and to tour their facility. This year I was able to visit an engine plant in West [...]
Creating Basic Stability
Lean production has dramatically lifted the competitiveness of many manufacturing companies and the value they deliver to customers. What’s more, encouraging news surfaces almost daily about firms embracing the central tenants of lean and driving them into nonproduction areas of the enterprise such as product development, purchasing, value-chain management, and engineering. Despite these triumphs, many [...]
