The Toyota Way to Continuous
Improvement:
Linking Strategy and
Operational Excellence to Achieve Superior Performance
A lean blueprint for creating long-term
sustainability the Toyota way!
During Toyota’s highly publicized recalls of 2009
and 2010, the legendary carmaker’s 60-year-old reputation for operational excellence was
put under the microscope. Business pundits wondered out loud if Toyota’s quality levels
had decreased dramatically, while the harshest critics predicted the end of the company as
we know it. For the most part, the government’s findings absolved Toyota of serious
defects and accidents, and Toyota recovered rapidly—but mistakes were made, which showed
that Toyota is not perfect. In fact, there is always opportunity for improvement in every
process.
In his bestselling business management
classic The Toyota Way, Jeffrey Liker introduced the world to the foundational principles
that have made Toyota the envy of companies around the world. Now, in The Toyota Way to
Continuous Improvement, Liker teams up with former Toyota production engineer James Franz
to explain the underlying thinking behind continuous improvement and why any company needs
a disciplined approach to process improvement in every part of the organization.
Liker and Franz outline the common mistakes in
thinking that limit results, and they reveal how Toyota achieves its dual objectives of
improving business performance and developing its people through following Dr. W. Edwards
Deming’s teachings of Plan-Do-Check-Adjust (PDCA). Through detailed case examples in
many industries, you’ll learn how to:
- Determine why your processes aren’t
achieving anticipated results
- Build a sustainable lean process with a
well-defined purpose
- Create a system that reveals problems
- Teach every leader and team member at every
level the art of PDCA for process improvement
With The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement, you
have the foundation you need to develop a vision of continuous improvement specific to
your organization and plot a path to turn your vision into a measurable reality.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Preparation- Building a Foundation for Lean Flow Processes;
Chapter1. What is a lean process and why are companies failing at it;
Chapter 2. People and Processes Grow Together through PDCA;
Chapter 3. Lean Out Processes or Build Lean Systems;
Chapter 4. Lean Processes start with a Purpose;
Chapter 5. How do you do it. Mechanistic and Organic Lean Deployment;
Part 2: Toyota Way Process Principles in Action: Cases;
Chapter 6. The Cases that Follow;
Chapter 7. A Repetitive Manufacturing Process as a Baseline (CAT-Mitsubishi JV
example);
Chapter 8. Lean Systems in High Volume, Process-Type Case: Iron Ore Mining;
Chapter 9. Developing a Lean System in Defense Remanufacturing;
Chapter 10. Developing a Lean Systems in Health Care;
Chapter 11. Developing a Lean Systems in Knowledge Work;
Chapter 12. Developing an Action Plan for Change;
Chapter 13. Verify Results and Make Adjustments;
Chapter 14. The Continuous Improvement Cycle
448 pages, Hardcover