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The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that inspire the Toyota Motor Corporation’s managerial approach and production system. Toyota first summed up its philosophy, values and manufacturing ideals in 2001, calling it “The Toyota Way 2001”.

Heritages of the Toyota Production System

The ‘Toyota Way’, was established from The Toyota Production System (TPS), which is based on the philosophy of complete elimination of all waste in pursuit of the most efficient methods, which has roots tracing back to Sakichi Toyoda’s automatic loom. TPS has evolved through many years of trial and error to improve efficiency based on the ‘Just-in-Time’ concept developed by Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder (and second president) of Toyota Motor Corporation. Waste can manifest as excess inventory, unnecessary processing steps, and defective products, among other instances. All these “waste” elements intertwine with each other to create more waste, eventually impacting the management of the corporation itself.

Kiichiro Toyoda, who inherited this philosophy, set out to realize his belief that, “the ideal conditions for making things are created when machines, facilities, and people work together to add value without generating any waste.” He conceived methodologies and techniques for eliminating waste between operations, both lines and processes. The result was the Just-in-Time method. This concept provides a vision of flowing value directly to the customer without interruption. Increasingly, customers want customized products and services on demand. Furthermore, ‘Built-in-Quality’ concept follows the principle of doing it right the first time to avoid downstream modifications.

The foundation of the TPS house clearly suggests it is not possible to flow value smoothly and perform each step correctly, when there is disorder and instability. Hence the need to level the flow of work to make it steady and consistent.  Many manufacturing and service organizations that have followed these principles have had dramatic success in eliminating waste, streamlining processes, saving money and better serving customers. As seen in the image below, the goal on the roof of the TPS house suggests that doing these things will improve quality, cost, delivery, safety and morale. It is shown as a system in which all the parts are interconnected, as in a structure—like a house.

Nevertheless, the people aspect who are supposed to be building and rebuilding the TPS house (applying the concepts) to familiarize to a dynamic environment are missing in the image, which brings us to the invention of the “Toyota Way”.

In 2001, Toyota created the “Toyota Way “house as an improved version house from the TPS house, which consists of principles in two key areas: continuous improvement, and respect for people. The ‘Toyota Way’, was defined in a simpler framework for applying Toyota’s Guiding Principles and building the kind of company that people should apply in every aspect of their day-to-day work livelihood, globally. It is the foundation of Toyota corporate culture. The new renovated ‘Toyota Way’ House  is built on two pillars: Continuous Improvement, which takes in the concepts of Challenge, Kaizen and Genchi Genbutsu, and Respect for People, which embraces Respect and Teamwork,  and gives a clear corporate direction as shown below:

1. Continuous improvement

Challenge

When we embrace a challenge we also commit oneself to challenging what we know and do to complete it. This means we have to approach each challenge, not only with creativity, but also with passion and courage.

Kaizen

Kaizen is the essence of continuous improvement. It is a way of thinking which encourages and empowers everyone to identify where and how even small changes can be made to benefit the business, the team or an individual performance.                                 

Genchi Genbutsu (現地現物)

Genchi Genbutsu literally translates “real location, real thing” and it is a key principle of the Toyota Production System. The principle is sometimes referred to as “go and see”. It suggests that in order to truly understand a situation one needs to observe what is happening at the site where work actually takes place, the genba (現場). One definition is that it is “collecting facts and data at the actual site of the work or problem. To achieve this one has to go to the source. “Going to the source” – is about checking the facts oneself, so that one can be sure to have the right information needed to make a good decision.

2. Respect for all at the heart of our business

Respect for people

This focuses on the relationships among colleagues, it is important that everyone is respected both for what they contribute and who they are. That includes an employees’ ideas, cultural and personal beliefs. Through Respect everyone in a corporation will have a personal responsibility for what they do and build mutual trust and understanding, which will aid build a diverse and sustainable workforce that reflects society around us and our changing customer base.

Teamwork

Successful teamwork is about everyone understanding corporate goals and working together to achieve them. Every member of a team is given the opportunity to do their best and is accountable to achieve results, Just-in-Time. Notably, throughout our business, from the board room to the production line, we recognize that people are our greatest asset. We strive to give human resource stable employment in line with the ‘Toyota Way’ with opportunities to develop their skills, responsibilities and commitment as individuals and committed team members.

The “Toyota Way” has been adopted not only by companies in Japan, Toyota companies worldwide, within the automotive industry, but also in production activities and continues to evolve globally.

After the death of Kiichiro Toyoda, his son Shoichiro Toyoda was named the Successor-Toyota Crown Prince.

Shoichiro Toyoda was born in Nagoya on 17th February 1925, to Kiichiro and Hatako Toyoda. Being the eldest son in a traditional Japanese family firm, Shoichiro seemed destined to run the company from the time of his birth.

Growing up under the instruction of his mother, Shoichiro learned all that was going on in his father’s car and truck company, and he absorbed the lessons.

Shoichiro graduated from high school in 1945. He wanted to study engineering at Nagoya University, however World War II and the American occupation of Japan changed the destinies of both Toyota and of Shoichiro. At the time Kiichiro was making trucks for the Imperial Japanese Army, and his plant was within a few days of being bombed by American Boeing B-29 (B-29) when Japan surrendered. There might well have been no Toyota for his son Shoichiro to return to. Like many other young Japanese men, Shoichiro was recruited to labour in the fields, raising potatoes and barley to feed the army, navy, and civilian population. This interrupted his education and he did not receive his Bachelor of Science in Engineering until 1947.

Shoichiro then entered Tohoku University in Sendai, about five hundred miles north of Tokyo, where he continued his studies in engineering. He later married Hiroko Mitsui in 1952 and become the father of two children, which made him to not only focus on his academic growth but also family warfare. Notable, one of his greatest academic achievements was receiving a doctorate in the year 1955.

In the last years of Kiichiro’s life (his father), Toyota Japan Motor Company resumed making trucks and passenger cars. This was at the time when unionization was introduced to Japan byGeneral Douglas MacArthur, while F. Edwards Deming introduced quality control. The main purpose of unionization was to give workers/soldiers the power to negotiate for more favourable working conditions and other benefits through collective bargaining. Toyota then became unionized, and its workers demanded job security, which Kiichiro could not provide because the company was losing money. 

Shoichiro had been ready to travel to America to manage a sewing-machine manufacturing operation, however, the passing of his father (Kiichiro) made him to change priorities.  At the age of 27, he was made to run Toyota as a Director even when he was not ready. Undeniably, his young age coupled with knowledge he acquired form universities reviewed prosperity. Evidently, Toyota soon began to flourish by making trucks for the American army fighting in Korea.

SHOICHIRO CHAMPIONS TOTAL QUALITY CONTROL

The company presidency passed into the hands of Taizo Ishida, who was not a member of the Toyoda family. This proved to be an important lesson for Shoichiro; it showed him that Toyota could remain a family firm even when it was necessary temporarily to turn to someone outside the family to run the company.

The major influence on the maturing of Shoichiro was Eiji, who was at that time the most powerful family member in the company. Eiji guided Shoichiro as a young executive over two decades to shape him into his successor as company president. He gave Shoichiro his grand vision, to make Toyota a global automotive company, and training him to realize that vision.

Under Ishida, Toyota began to export cars to Europe and America. The Toyota Corona Crown was the first Japanese car to be marketed abroad. Its success in the 1950s and early 1960s was limited.

The Motomachi plant was opened in 1959 to produce Toyota cars. The director of the construction committee was Shoichiro, supervised by Eiji. Shoichiro was sent abroad to gain expertise on how to construct a plant for passenger cars. In 1961 he was promoted to managing director of the corporate planning office.

Shoichiro quickly recognized that Toyota’s cars and trucks were not of the quality foreign consumers were looking for. Americans would not buy what many of them saw as under-powered, unattractive, and undependable vehicles. Toyota would have to improve its entire production process, but doing so was easier said than done. While the company talked about improving quality control, it had little contact with American experts on the matter, and its workers were still inexperienced in this area.

Shoichiro saw a solution: Quality-control operations needed to be integrated into every step of production. They had to be systematic and a part of every Toyota department and operation. In the early 1960s he prevailed upon Eiji and Ishida to implement a total-quality-control program. The board agreed, and Shoichiro set the goal of having a program in operation by 1964. He brought in experts, but the company’s workers complained and revolted. Production expert Taiichi Ohno felt that Shoichiro was wasting his time and Toyota’s money. Within a year, though, Shoichiro’s critics knew he had been right. The number of defects in Toyota cars fell by half.

Taiichi Ohno a Japanese industrial engineer and businessman, who was considered to be the father of the Toyota Production System, which inspired Lean Manufacturing in the United States of America, devised the seven wastes as part of system of quality control. Toyota was on its way to global competitiveness and Shoichiro, more than any other individual, was responsible.

Shoichiro Toyoda is a retired Japanese business executive who served as chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation between 1992–1999, as well as chairman of the influential Japan Business Federation, beginning in May 1994 through May 1998. Today, he serves on the boards of a number of corporate and non-corporate organizations. He has been honorary chairman of the Japanese Federation of Economic Organizations (Nippon Keidanren) since 2002. In addition, he has received more than two dozen awards and medals in Japan, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.

Kiichiro Toyoda was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan in 1894. He was the son of Sakichi Toyoda, a noted inventor and founder of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works.

Kiichiro organised the creation of the first Toyota automobile and the founding of Toyota Motor Corporation in 1937. 

Kiichiro attended the University of Tokyo, where he studied engineering. After graduation, Kiichiro began working in the family business and later travelled to England and the United States to further his education in manufacturing.

After returning to Japan, Kiichiro made improvements to many of the company’s looms and implemented techniques for eliminating waste in manufacturing and created what became the Just-in-Time method. The idea of Just-in-Time originated with Kiichiro Toyoda during a trip to England because he missed a train. The train was on time, but Toyoda was slightly late. This had him thinking about correlations for material needed for production. He believed that material arriving too late would obviously be bad, as it causes stops and delays. However, material arriving too early is also bad, as it increases material for storage purposes. Hence, the material had to arrive Just-in-Time which was and still is the critical method to success.

After his first trip to the west in 1921, Kiichiro had become increasingly interested in automobiles.

 In 1933, Kiichiro convinced Risaburo, his brother-in-law and president of the family company, to fund an automotive development program and purchased a new Chevrolet to use as a benchmark. He then recruited some of Japan’s best engineers to dis assemble and reassemble the car to learn how the modern manufacturers were building their vehicles. 

In 1934, Kiichiro and his team unveiled an experimental gasoline engine to Toyoda stockholders and persuaded them to fund a separate automotive division. The following year, Kiichiro and his team produced a prototype automobile called “Model A1” passenger car. “Model A1” borrowed numerous ideas from established automakers; the engine was based on a Chevrolet design, the chassis was copied from Ford, and the styling was derived from a Chrysler Airflow. Kiichiro drove one of the prototypes to his father’s grave as a sign of respect.

The vehicles were originally sold under the Toyoda name, but the division soon changed its name to “Toyota” because it took eight brush strokes to write (a lucky number in Japanese culture) and was visually simpler. The new name was trademarked in 1936 and Toyota Motor Corporation was registered independently of Toyoda Loom Works in 1937.

Toyoda was named Vice President of the Toyota Motor Company upon its formation. He became President in 1941 and remained head of the company until his resignation in 1950. He passed away in 1952, having laid the groundwork for Toyota Motor Corporation’s rise to the top of the automotive industry.

Risaburo Toyoda (born March 5, 1884) was a Japanese entrepreneur. He was the son-in-law of Toyota Industries Co., Ltd founder Sakichi Toyoda, and brother-in-law of Toyota Motor Corporation founder, Kiichiro Toyoda

He graduated from Hitotsubashi University (then Tokyo Koto ShogyoGakko). In 1939, he became the first president of the Toyota Motor Corporation. He died at the age of 68 in 1952.

Five Main Principles of Toyoda

• Always be faithful to your duties, thereby contributing to the Company and to the overall good.
• Always be studious and creative, striving to stay ahead of the times.
• Always be practical and avoid frivolousness.
• Always strive to build a homelike atmosphere at work that is warm and friendly.
• Always have respect for spiritual matters, and remember to be grateful at all times.

The “Five Main Principles of Toyoda” are a written statement of the teaching of Sakichi Toyoda collected and arranged by Risaburo Toyoda and Kiichiro Toyoda. The Principles were first released on October 30, 1935, the fifth anniversary of Sakichi’s death. Since then, Five Main Principles of Toyoda have been handed down to every Toyota Group company and serve as conduct guidelines for all employees.

Reference: toyota-global.com

The story begun in the year 1867 when Ikichi and Ei Toyoda had a son named Sakichi, born on the 14th of February in Yamaguchi, Tōtōmi Province (present-day Kosai, Shizuoka). Ikichi Toyoda became an inventor, industrialist and legend of Japan’s industrialization.

Sakichi’s birth and early upbringing coincided with that period in Japanese history when the shogunate was replaced by a new government under the Meiji Emperor. That period was generally regarded as the beginning of modern Japan. In the middle of social upheavals, the entire village where Sakichi lived was plagued with poverty. Ikichi Toyoda was a farmer and also worked as a carpenter to support his family and his community. Many people relied on him. Sakichi looked up to his father’s work and began working as an assistant to his father in carpentry trade, immediately after having graduated from elementary school. 

At the age of 14 to 15, Sakichi began to think about ways in which he could both be useful to the people around him and serve his country.

On days when there was no carpentry, Sakichi would diligently read newspapers and magazinesthat kept him informed of the political situation not only in his country but of the world at large. This prompted him to organise local youths in the community by getting together in an evening study group to promote knowledge sharing of current affairs and self-learning.

In 1885, he turned 18 and learnt of the newly enacted Patent Monopoly Act. The new developments ignited the zeal to participate in changes. This prompted Sakichi to study the Act carefully and quickly became convinced that he had found his way forward. He dreamt of adding the necessary values to his family and society through inventions. He then decided to tap into his own wisdom and devoted his utmost efforts towards inventions as a means of creating something new, by stating, “Western civilization is based upon machinery. Machines are driven by steam. Steam-powered machinery requires coal which is expensive. Some methods must be forced to replace steam as the motive force.” – Sakichi Toyoda.

Sakichi experimented on various ways on trying to live up to his statement which did not work until a thought of improving Hand Loom came to his mind. He worked in a barn, built and destroyed a number of looms which made most people to think of him as being strange, yet he was never bothered.

At the time the Japanese government called for inventors’ no one answered the call faster than Sakichi Toyoda. He did a lot of research regarding acceptability and value addition to the Japanese economy.  In his early 20s (1887 to be exact), Sakichi Toyoda knew well that his first invention would be to improve the loom and to progress his family’s lifestyle.

In the autumn of 1891 at the age of 24, Sakichi Toyoda’s first successful invention known as Toyoda Wooden Hand Loom was accomplished and was awarded with his first patent. Through successful inventions, Sakichi Toyoda launched the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works which was the engineering and manufacturing company in 1926. It earned him the signature of “Father of the Japanese industrial revolution”. He also introduced Toyota Industries Company Ltd, invented numerous textile-focused weaving devices and innovative fuelling systems which were used to power his Toyoda-branded machines. Looking for continuous improvements was Sakichi’s way of life!

Unlike previous looms, the Toyoda Wooden Hand Loom required only one hand to operate instead of two. It removed the unevenness of the woven fabric thus improving quality. It increased efficiency by 40 to 50 percent. Nonetheless, the Loom was still manually powered. This limited further improvements in terms of speed and overall efficiency. This unproductivity made Sakichi to dedicate his attention to the invention of a Power Loom.

In 1892, Sakichi started a small factory in Tokyo’s Taito Ward that used several of the Toyoda Wooden Hand Looms. He did this for numerous reasons; Sakichi needed financial resources to support his career and desired financial independence and stability to better pursue his inventing path. He also thought that he would be able to confidently recommend his inventions to customers by using it himself to confirm its superior performance.

Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. Sets Sail

In the year 1926, on November 17, began the success of the development of the Automatic Loom, by Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. (now Toyota Industries Corporation) which was exhibited at the head office of Toyoda Boshoku in Nagoya City. Toyoda Automatic Loom Works’ establishment was officially registered the following day on November 18, 1926. Risaburo Toyoda, Sakichi’s son-in-law, was named President and Kiichiro, Toyoda Sakichi’s son became the Managing Director. Sakichi’s unprecedented concept that originated from his experiences tailored major objectives of the company which was based on pursuing related invention and research.

Notably, Sakichi’s most famous invention was the Automatic Power Loom, which he implemented the principle of Jidoka (autonomous automation). The principle of Jidoka, meant that the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, which became later a part of the Toyota Production System. Sakichi really lived up to being the father of industrial revolution as he also developed the concept of 5 Whys: When a problem occurs, ask “why” five times to try to find the source of the problem, then put in place something to prevent the problem from recurring. This concept is still being used today as part of applying lean methodologies to solve problems, improve quality, and reduce costs.

Sakichi Toyoda passed away in October 1930, having devoted his 63 years to invention. To commemorate the company founder, who was the spiritual support of all Toyoda companies, a monument was constructed on the first anniversary of his passing and a bust of Sakichi was erected on the fifth anniversary.

His son, Kiichiro Toyoda, inherited his father’s legacy and later establish Japan’s largest automaker, Toyota.  Sakichi Toyoda has been given several befitting titles some of which have been referred to as the “King of Japanese Inventor” and “Father of the Japanese industrial revolution”. 

This has been a brief history of Sakichi Toyoda – the Legend (February 14, 1867 – October 30, 1930).

“Before you say you can’t do something, try it.” Kiichiro Toyoda spearheaded the creation of the first Toyota automobile and the founding of Toyota Motor Corporation in 1937. Toyoda was born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan in 1894. He was the son of Sakichi Toyoda, a noted inventor and founder of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1926.

Kiichiro attended the University of Tokyo, where he studied engineering. After graduation, Kiichiro began working in the family business and later traveled to England and the United States to further his education in manufacturing.

After returning to Japan, Kiichiro made improvements to many of the company’s looms and implemented techniques for eliminating waste in manufacturing, creating what became the Just-in-Time method. However, after his first trip to the west in 1921, Kiichiro had become increasingly interested in automobiles. In 1933, Kiichiro convinced Risaburo, his brother-in-law and president of the family company, to fund an automotive development program and purchased a new Chevrolet to use as a benchmark. He then enlisted some of Japan’s best engineers to disassemble and reassemble the car to learn how the modern manufacturers were building their vehicles.

In 1934, Kiichiro and his team unveiled an experimental gasoline engine to Toyoda stockholders and persuaded them to fund a separate automotive division. The next year, Kiichiro and his team produced a prototype automobile called “Model A1” passenger car. “Model A1” borrowed numerous ideas from established automakers; the engine was based on a Chevrolet design, the chassis was copied from Ford, and the styling was derived from a Chrysler Airflow. Kiichiro drove one of the prototypes to his father’s grave as a sign of respect.

The vehicles were originally sold under the Toyoda name, but the division soon changed its name to “Toyota” because it took eight brush strokes to write (a lucky number in Japanese culture) and was visually simpler. The new name was trademarked in 1936 and Toyota Motor Corporation was registered independently of Toyoda Loom Works in 1937.

Toyoda was named Vice President of the Toyota Motor Company upon its formation. He became President in 1941 and remained head of the company until his resignation in 1950. He passed away in 1952, having laid the groundwork for Toyota Motor Corporation’s rise to the top of the automotive industry.

Reference: https://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/kiichiro-toyoda/

Watch Kiichiro Toyoda’s biography:

• Kiichiro Toyoda Biography 1
• Kiichiro Toyoda Biography 2