While these concepts are built upon a Lean background, Lean was built and has evolved by borrowing, re-framing and repurposing existing business management ideas.
These concepts are not just for Lean people, but for every leader at all levels of the business. They are reflection points to access the health of your processes, your people, your suppliers, your strategy and your purpose.
These articles reflect on the key ideas and concepts from the 14 Management Principles from “The Toyota Way” by Jeffrey Liker. Lean is not about squeezing more from less. It’s about removing everything that stops us delivering greater value to our customers.
4 Categories:
- Problem Solving | People & Partners | The Right Process | Long Term Philosophy
What are the 14 Principles of the Toyota Production System?
Principle 1: Base your management decisions on a long term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals.
Principle 2: Create continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface.
Principle 3: Use “Pull” system to avoid overproduction.
Principle 4: Level out the workload (heijunka). (“Work like a tortoise, not the hare”).
Principle 5: Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right at the first time.
Principle 6: Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvements and employee empowerment.
Principle 7: Use Visual Control so no problems are hidden.
Principle 8: Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that servers your people and process.
Principle 9: Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live philosophy and teach it to others.
Principle 10: Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy.
Principle 11: Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and helping them improve.
Principle 12: Go to Gemba and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation (Genchi Genbutsu).
Principle 13: Make decision slowly by consensus (use cross-functional teams), thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly.
Principle 14: Become a learning organization through relentless reflection (hansei) and continuous improvements (Kaizen).
Lean Principes
14 Principles of the Toyota Way
The 14 Lean Principles of the Toyota Production System
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