What Toyota Production System is Really About

Many people don’t understand the DNA of the Toyota Production System and the core values of the Toyota Way. I have seen many who think about the TPS as a tool kit or lean manufacturing techniques that only work with Toyota because Toyota has a different process, a stable environment, or less fluctuation in customer demand. Others believe the TPS works only in the automotive industry. Jeff K. Liker came out with a remarkable series of books starting with The Toyota Way (2003) and ending with The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership (Liker and Convis 2012). He revealed the real TPS based on his thirty-plus years of experience studying Toyota. It took him seven books to explain and decode the TPS. It is a Thinking Production System. It is neither a waste removal tool nor a lean manufacturing tactic. Liker presented very well the leadership model behind the system’s success. The TPS is really not what many think. So, what is TPS?