Toyota marks 25 Years of Sharing Knowledge with North American Small Business and Non Profits through Engagement of New Sectors

There are more than 300 organizations across North America that work together with Toyota, searching for better ways of doing their everyday work. Ace Metal Crafts in Bensenville, Illinois wanted to find a way to reduce its production lead time. Harbor- UCLA Medical Center’s eye clinic wished to serve more patients. SBP wanted to reduce the time of rebuilding homes after natural disasters.

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) has shared the “Toyota Production System” (TPS) through its Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC) for 25 years. This is the same practice and operational philosophy being followed its own factories when building automobiles.

At first, Toyota began to share its know-how with small to mid-sized manufacturers. Later, apart from manufacturing, it extended and put the system into use in government objects, non-profits that are involved disaster help and hunger relief as well as its recent- healthcare organizations.

Toyota declared that these efforts will be extended to other sectors like construction and retail, among other sectors in North America.

“Our years of manufacturing experience have taught us that small improvements in a process can make a big difference — and we’ve learned that this approach can help other organizations outside of manufacturing, too,” said Terry Horinouchi, president of TSSC. “Through our collaborations over the years, our partners have acquired the knowledge to feed more clients, build more homes, improve quality of care, gain more business, and preserve or even create jobs in North America.”

The main aim of TSSC is to supply non-Toyota organizations with tools which can solve their operational problems, create new jobs and maximize resources that are available.

For example, ACE Metal Crafts succeeded in reducing its production by 38 percent lead time, adding more jobs and keeping the biggest clients all through TPS philosophies. As for Harbor-UCLA Medical center, they reduced their time from check-in to discharge for their patients by half, having more new patients seen each day. SBP reduced their time in rebuilding homes after natural disasters for 48 percent. That means that they reduced the time to rebuild a home from 116 day to 60 days.

“Toyota engages other organizations with our know-how so that they can build a culture of continuous improvement,” said Chris Nielsen, executive vice president of product support and chief quality officer of Toyota Motor North America. “We see strong opportunity in organizations in sectors other than automotive or manufacturing, and are excited to see how TSSC can collaborate with them to help improve processes, maximize operations, build more resilient communities, and serve more people.”

An event was held by TSSC in honor of the 25th anniversary, with partners from different sectors. They shared experiences, and discussed how TPS is put into use in different organizations. Some of the panels were “Made in America: TPS in manufacturing and much more” and “TPS in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead.”