How to Develop Products like Toyota
Posted on January 25, 2009 Comments (3)
How to Develop Products like Toyota
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“Test first, then design. First run simulations and understand where the boundaries of solutions lie. Once you understand the alternate spaces between competing choices, you narrow the options in what are called integrating events.”
Integrating events are an opportunity to eliminate weak opportunities. It is only after these events are complete that detailed design commences. “The point is that you don’t get to detailed design until everything works,” says Kennedy. “That is the reason Toyota focuses so intently up front on understanding trade-offs.”
This is very similar to agile software development practices. Though due to different processes, software versus car manufacture the two process are not identical.
This is always true. Copying what others do does not work. You can learn from others by understanding the benefits of their process and then adapting the ideas to your organization.
On my management improvement blog I discuss the Toyota Production System often, you can follow those posts if you are interested.
Related: Toyota Engineering Development Process – Toyota Winglet, Personal Transportation – 12 stocks for 10 years – Toyota Robots
Categories: Engineering
Tags: business, cars, Engineering, Japan, management, manufacturing
3 Responses to “How to Develop Products like Toyota”
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January 26th, 2009 @ 1:25 pm
Copying what others do does not work?
I’m not agreeing with this issue.
Think about few years ago when a German automobile manufacture build some computer with world innovation using USA Microchip devices.
In few weeks an American factory made the same function using the same microprocessors. (Germans believe that at least 6-12 months will be #1)
How can be this possible?
Only by using ‘know how’ spy technology and really do what others do. From that point, German factory use Siemens microchips (which are harder to handle)
The whole world of auto industry (including Toyota) have spy in key process and we (as regular people) don’t know exactly what is going on there.
February 21st, 2009 @ 10:36 am
I may be here a little bit off the topic…but the way Toyota does it is not always the best. I am interested in racing. I watch Toyota team in Formula1 and believe me-they spend the most money of all teams and they get no results. And they are in F1 for many years now. On contrary-BMW joined F1 later than Toyota and they are evolving quicker and achieving more. Does this tell us anything about famous “Toyota Way”?
March 4th, 2009 @ 7:51 am
Yes, I agree and I am saying this in general terms. We can always copy the good stuff and leave behind the bad stuff. In that way, we improve what is already there with even better stuff and this extends to cars.
I have always loved Toyota. It has been very dependable. It may not always be the best but it is one of the most trusted brands.