{"id":12770,"date":"2016-10-05T19:43:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T19:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arliemediadesign.com\/?p=12770"},"modified":"2025-03-28T19:49:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T19:49:29","slug":"12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Ways in Which Toyota Create a Great Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1. More people, less machines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first surprise was that the assembly line was not full of robots. Most of the machinery looked as if it could have been in place 30 years ago. We were told that they have actually reduced<\/strong> the level of automation in recent years. \u201cPeople are more flexible than machines,\u201d was one response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also no SAP or ERP system in evidence. Instead, the key monitoring tool was developed in Excel. \u201cWe want a system that adapts to the way we work, not to have to adapt to the way an existing piece of software works.\u201d And this was no paperless office. Charts and written sheets were everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

2. Two improvements from each member every month<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever be satisfied with what you have got\u201d is a core principle at Toyota. Every \u201cmember\u201d (as staff are called) is expected to come up with two \u201ckaizens\u201d (or ideas for improvement) each month. Indeed they are trained in fabrication and welding to enable them to be able to test out their ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time is dedicated to\u00a0kaizen<\/a>: Each member is allocated 15 minutes a day to identify possible improvements. Managers will try and avoid opposing a change, even if it has been tried before and not worked. A key point of kaizen is personal development: \u201cThe learning comes from the journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

3. Intrinsic motivation, not money<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are no rewards for any financial gain resulting from the improvements people make. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our people driven by money but by the desire to improve the process.\u201d There are also no individual bonuses, only collective bonuses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. Standardise, then improve<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is a sense of empowerment and engagement wherever you go at Toyota. But there is no sense of anarchy. Every process is carefully documented. \u201cEvery member is encouraged to improve the current process, but that standardisation makes it easy to return to the old process if the idea doesn\u2019t work.\u201d If the idea works, then the new approach is standardised and written down as a process by the member who created the improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout standardisation there can be no kaizen,\u201d said Toyota founder Taiichi Ohno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. Each Toyota assembly line is different<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When a new engine is created, or a new car rolled out, each plant will be equipped with the same assembly line and set of standardised processes. However each plant is continually innovating and, although\u00a0yokoten (sharing)<\/a>\u00a0means many innovations get adopted at other plants, some don\u2019t. The expectation that every member is continually seeking improvement means that every Toyota assembly line is different. There is standardisation of processes on each line but seems to be no desire for standardisation across sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Toyota plant I visited in Deeside had a slightly old fashioned look to it. But this is apparently the most productive Toyota assembly line on the planet, being the first to achieve an engine every 48 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

5. Small changes matter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A kaizen doesn\u2019t have to be huge. One example was a lever that popped up a screw, meaning the member didn\u2019t need to bend down to pick it up. It was estimated to save two tenths of a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe build ten million cars a year. Save two tenths of a second on each one and that\u2019s a gain of 560 person hours.\u201d Do one thousand of those a month (two for each of the 500 staff at the Deeside plant) and, if they are shared across the whole company, you\u2019ve gained half a million person hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

6. Quality Control Circles: Full involvement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Twice a month the assembly lines shut down for half an hour as every member gathers into their QCCs (Quality Control Circles). Here they study the data and learn more about what is going on in their section and throughout the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may result in further improvements but \u201cthat is not the point. The aim is development,\u201d and that is what the carefully laid out QCC plans focus on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

7. A no blame culture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe would never blame the individual. If something goes wrong, it is the process that has gone wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the two key pillars of the Toyota system is\u00a0jidoka<\/a>. Every member can pull a cord to stop the belt if there is a problem to help eliminate the root cause. Team leaders must never criticise a member for pulling the cord, as \u201cwe want them to pull the cord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you blame somebody for failure, all that will happen is people will start sweeping problems under the carpet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

8. Systems to prevent error<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I knew that\u00a0Deming<\/a>\u00a0(the US management theorist that had such influence on Japanese methods) was clear that errors are caused by processes not by people. But visiting a Toyota assembly line really showed what he meant. Members will repeat the same process 150 times in a two hour session. It would be easy to miss a step or use the wrong part if the process allowed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the kaizen improvements specifically prevent that. Buckets have green lights which go off if a hand has reached in to collect a part, so you know if you\u2019ve forgotten it. With one component it was too easy to pick up two, so the delivery was altered to physically prevent that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The member we watched was working alternately on different engines with different spark plugs. If both types of spark plugs were available and the member picked the wrong set, that would not be \u201chuman error\u201d but process error. So a plastic shield swings across between the two sets so only the correct one is uncovered. As backup (in case the shield fails) a green light goes on over the correct set of plugs. It is impossible to accidentally use the wrong plugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is all fairly low tech but these are simple systems that prevent human error by making it as difficult as possible to make that error. This is known as\u00a0\u201cpoka-yoke\u201d<\/a>\u00a0or \u201cmistake proofing\u201d and is intrinsic to the Toyota approach. If your system allows somebody to make a mistake, it is the system that is wrong, not the person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Toyota’s approach<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

9. It\u2019s all about the people<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur greatest resource Is flexible, motivated members.\u201d Respect for people sits alongside continuous improvement at the core of The Toyota Way. \u201cWhen you hire two hands you get a brain free. Clever people we have here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers are there to support. The development of the members is the most important thing you can do. \u201cWe build people before we build cars.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the standard management diagram, the front-line staff are at the bottom and the top managers are at the top. At Toyota, it is the other way round, clearly labelled that the role of managers is to support their members. They are expected to coach them and to ask \u201cwhat can I do to help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

10. Recruit for attitude, train for skills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can train people in the skills they need.\u201d They recruit for good communication, teamwork, willingness to improve. \u201cIt is not that they have the best skills but the right team fit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

11. Get them to do the job in the recruitment process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Those who know me will know this is my core requirement for effective recruitment. But Toyota take it to an extra level. Before they are invited to interview, applicants must spend a full day on an assembly line. Not the real one, but a mock assembly line. They are even asked to come up with one or two kaizen improvements at the end of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe used to have people quitting on their first day, when they realised what they had to do. We don\u2019t get that any more. If they are not up to it, they quit on that mock day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

12. It\u2019s about people, not money<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One visitor asked if they have costed the time \u201clost\u201d in working on kaizen and quality circles and compared it to the benefits that result and can show it makes financial sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Toyota representative looks slightly baffled. It is one of those moments when you see two people working from completely different assumptions. It seems a calculation that Toyota would never see the need to carry out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will never focus purely on cost,\u201d he explains. \u201cDevelopment of the members is the most important thing you can do, our biggest resource.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I left feeling that Toyota is truly a remarkable workplace. Those twin pillars of respect for people and continuous improvement seem genuine and embedded in everything they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Toyota system came to widespread attention in the West when Womack and Jones of MIT wrote about it, defining it as \u201cLean Thinking.\u201d However, their backgrounds meant they focused on the processes, such as cutting out waste, and largely ignored the people element.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has even been said that founder Taiichi Ohno was very happy that the Toyota ideas had been so misunderstood in the West, by focusing on elements like the seven wastes, that were not actually the core element. (See \u201cDid Toyota fool the Lean community?\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deeside is the only Toyota plant in Europe that helps other organisations implement ideas like Lean and continuous improvement. But many organisations, they feel, are not able to be helped in this way. The NHS is one example: \u201cJust too many restrictive practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit was part of the excellent\u00a0Onsite Insights<\/a>\u00a0visits programme. Do contact them to find how you can get first hand experience of great companies (including Happy!).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. More people, less machines The first surprise was that the assembly line was not full of robots. Most of the machinery looked as if it could have been in place 30 years ago. We were told that they have actually reduced the level of automation in recent years. \u201cPeople are more flexible than machines,\u201d was one response. There was also no SAP or ERP system in evidence. Instead, the key monitoring tool was developed in Excel. \u201cWe want a system that adapts to the way we work, not to have to adapt to the way an existing piece of software works.\u201d And this was no paperless office. Charts and written sheets were everywhere. 2. Two improvements from each member every month \u201cNever be satisfied with what you have got\u201d is a core principle at Toyota. Every \u201cmember\u201d (as staff are called) is expected to come up with two \u201ckaizens\u201d (or ideas for improvement) each month. Indeed they are trained in fabrication and welding to enable them to be able to test out their ideas. Time is dedicated to\u00a0kaizen: Each member is allocated 15 minutes a day to identify possible improvements. Managers will try and avoid opposing a change, even if it has been tried before and not worked. A key point of kaizen is personal development: \u201cThe learning comes from the journey.\u201d 3. Intrinsic motivation, not money There are no rewards for any financial gain resulting from the improvements people make. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our people driven by money but by the desire to improve the process.\u201d There are also no individual bonuses, only collective bonuses. 4. Standardise, then improve There is a sense of empowerment and engagement wherever you go at Toyota. But there is no sense of anarchy. Every process is carefully documented. \u201cEvery member is encouraged to improve the current process, but that standardisation makes it easy to return to the old process if the idea doesn\u2019t work.\u201d If the idea works, then the new approach is standardised and written down as a process by the member who created the improvement. \u201cWithout standardisation there can be no kaizen,\u201d said Toyota founder Taiichi Ohno. 4. Each Toyota assembly line is different When a new engine is created, or a new car rolled out, each plant will be equipped with the same assembly line and set of standardised processes. However each plant is continually innovating and, although\u00a0yokoten (sharing)\u00a0means many innovations get adopted at other plants, some don\u2019t. The expectation that every member is continually seeking improvement means that every Toyota assembly line is different. There is standardisation of processes on each line but seems to be no desire for standardisation across sites. The Toyota plant I visited in Deeside had a slightly old fashioned look to it. But this is apparently the most productive Toyota assembly line on the planet, being the first to achieve an engine every 48 seconds. 5. Small changes matter A kaizen doesn\u2019t have to be huge. One example was a lever that popped up a screw, meaning the member didn\u2019t need to bend down to pick it up. It was estimated to save two tenths of a second. \u201cWe build ten million cars a year. Save two tenths of a second on each one and that\u2019s a gain of 560 person hours.\u201d Do one thousand of those a month (two for each of the 500 staff at the Deeside plant) and, if they are shared across the whole company, you\u2019ve gained half a million person hours. 6. Quality Control Circles: Full involvement Twice a month the assembly lines shut down for half an hour as every member gathers into their QCCs (Quality Control Circles). Here they study the data and learn more about what is going on in their section and throughout the company. This may result in further improvements but \u201cthat is not the point. The aim is development,\u201d and that is what the carefully laid out QCC plans focus on. 7. A no blame culture \u201cWe would never blame the individual. If something goes wrong, it is the process that has gone wrong.\u201d One of the two key pillars of the Toyota system is\u00a0jidoka. Every member can pull a cord to stop the belt if there is a problem to help eliminate the root cause. Team leaders must never criticise a member for pulling the cord, as \u201cwe want them to pull the cord.\u201d \u201cIf you blame somebody for failure, all that will happen is people will start sweeping problems under the carpet.\u201d 8. Systems to prevent error I knew that\u00a0Deming\u00a0(the US management theorist that had such influence on Japanese methods) was clear that errors are caused by processes not by people. But visiting a Toyota assembly line really showed what he meant. Members will repeat the same process 150 times in a two hour session. It would be easy to miss a step or use the wrong part if the process allowed it. Many of the kaizen improvements specifically prevent that. Buckets have green lights which go off if a hand has reached in to collect a part, so you know if you\u2019ve forgotten it. With one component it was too easy to pick up two, so the delivery was altered to physically prevent that. The member we watched was working alternately on different engines with different spark plugs. If both types of spark plugs were available and the member picked the wrong set, that would not be \u201chuman error\u201d but process error. So a plastic shield swings across between the two sets so only the correct one is uncovered. As backup (in case the shield fails) a green light goes on over the correct set of plugs. It is impossible to accidentally use the wrong plugs. It is all fairly low tech but these are simple systems that prevent human error by making it as difficult as possible to make that error. This is known as\u00a0\u201cpoka-yoke\u201d\u00a0or \u201cmistake proofing\u201d and is intrinsic to the Toyota approach. If your system allows somebody<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,25],"tags":[],"blog-post-type":[35],"class_list":["post-12770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-henrys-blog","category-the-happy-manifesto","blog-post-type-blog-with-image"],"acf":{"read_or_watch_time":"Read length: 5 min read"},"yoast_head":"\n12 Ways in Which Toyota Create a Great Workplace - Happy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"12 Ways in Which Toyota Create a Great Workplace\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"1. More people, less machines The first surprise was that the assembly line was not full of robots. Most of the machinery looked as if it could have been in place 30 years ago. We were told that they have actually reduced the level of automation in recent years. \u201cPeople are more flexible than machines,\u201d was one response. There was also no SAP or ERP system in evidence. Instead, the key monitoring tool was developed in Excel. \u201cWe want a system that adapts to the way we work, not to have to adapt to the way an existing piece of software works.\u201d And this was no paperless office. Charts and written sheets were everywhere. 2. Two improvements from each member every month \u201cNever be satisfied with what you have got\u201d is a core principle at Toyota. Every \u201cmember\u201d (as staff are called) is expected to come up with two \u201ckaizens\u201d (or ideas for improvement) each month. Indeed they are trained in fabrication and welding to enable them to be able to test out their ideas. Time is dedicated to\u00a0kaizen: Each member is allocated 15 minutes a day to identify possible improvements. Managers will try and avoid opposing a change, even if it has been tried before and not worked. A key point of kaizen is personal development: \u201cThe learning comes from the journey.\u201d 3. Intrinsic motivation, not money There are no rewards for any financial gain resulting from the improvements people make. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our people driven by money but by the desire to improve the process.\u201d There are also no individual bonuses, only collective bonuses. 4. Standardise, then improve There is a sense of empowerment and engagement wherever you go at Toyota. But there is no sense of anarchy. Every process is carefully documented. \u201cEvery member is encouraged to improve the current process, but that standardisation makes it easy to return to the old process if the idea doesn\u2019t work.\u201d If the idea works, then the new approach is standardised and written down as a process by the member who created the improvement. \u201cWithout standardisation there can be no kaizen,\u201d said Toyota founder Taiichi Ohno. 4. Each Toyota assembly line is different When a new engine is created, or a new car rolled out, each plant will be equipped with the same assembly line and set of standardised processes. However each plant is continually innovating and, although\u00a0yokoten (sharing)\u00a0means many innovations get adopted at other plants, some don\u2019t. The expectation that every member is continually seeking improvement means that every Toyota assembly line is different. There is standardisation of processes on each line but seems to be no desire for standardisation across sites. The Toyota plant I visited in Deeside had a slightly old fashioned look to it. But this is apparently the most productive Toyota assembly line on the planet, being the first to achieve an engine every 48 seconds. 5. Small changes matter A kaizen doesn\u2019t have to be huge. One example was a lever that popped up a screw, meaning the member didn\u2019t need to bend down to pick it up. It was estimated to save two tenths of a second. \u201cWe build ten million cars a year. Save two tenths of a second on each one and that\u2019s a gain of 560 person hours.\u201d Do one thousand of those a month (two for each of the 500 staff at the Deeside plant) and, if they are shared across the whole company, you\u2019ve gained half a million person hours. 6. Quality Control Circles: Full involvement Twice a month the assembly lines shut down for half an hour as every member gathers into their QCCs (Quality Control Circles). Here they study the data and learn more about what is going on in their section and throughout the company. This may result in further improvements but \u201cthat is not the point. The aim is development,\u201d and that is what the carefully laid out QCC plans focus on. 7. A no blame culture \u201cWe would never blame the individual. If something goes wrong, it is the process that has gone wrong.\u201d One of the two key pillars of the Toyota system is\u00a0jidoka. Every member can pull a cord to stop the belt if there is a problem to help eliminate the root cause. Team leaders must never criticise a member for pulling the cord, as \u201cwe want them to pull the cord.\u201d \u201cIf you blame somebody for failure, all that will happen is people will start sweeping problems under the carpet.\u201d 8. Systems to prevent error I knew that\u00a0Deming\u00a0(the US management theorist that had such influence on Japanese methods) was clear that errors are caused by processes not by people. But visiting a Toyota assembly line really showed what he meant. Members will repeat the same process 150 times in a two hour session. It would be easy to miss a step or use the wrong part if the process allowed it. Many of the kaizen improvements specifically prevent that. Buckets have green lights which go off if a hand has reached in to collect a part, so you know if you\u2019ve forgotten it. With one component it was too easy to pick up two, so the delivery was altered to physically prevent that. The member we watched was working alternately on different engines with different spark plugs. If both types of spark plugs were available and the member picked the wrong set, that would not be \u201chuman error\u201d but process error. So a plastic shield swings across between the two sets so only the correct one is uncovered. As backup (in case the shield fails) a green light goes on over the correct set of plugs. It is impossible to accidentally use the wrong plugs. It is all fairly low tech but these are simple systems that prevent human error by making it as difficult as possible to make that error. This is known as\u00a0\u201cpoka-yoke\u201d\u00a0or \u201cmistake proofing\u201d and is intrinsic to the Toyota approach. If your system allows somebody\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Happy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HappyLtd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-05T19:43:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-28T19:49:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/toyota.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Henry Stewart\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@happyltd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@happyltd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Henry Stewart\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Henry Stewart\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d908b838c968ee1e7ac9fef10a219ddc\"},\"headline\":\"12 Ways in Which Toyota Create a Great Workplace\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-05T19:43:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-28T19:49:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/\"},\"wordCount\":1588,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/toyota.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Henry's blog\",\"The Happy Manifesto\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/\",\"name\":\"12 Ways in Which Toyota Create a Great Workplace - 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Most of the machinery looked as if it could have been in place 30 years ago. We were told that they have actually reduced the level of automation in recent years. \u201cPeople are more flexible than machines,\u201d was one response. There was also no SAP or ERP system in evidence. Instead, the key monitoring tool was developed in Excel. \u201cWe want a system that adapts to the way we work, not to have to adapt to the way an existing piece of software works.\u201d And this was no paperless office. Charts and written sheets were everywhere. 2. Two improvements from each member every month \u201cNever be satisfied with what you have got\u201d is a core principle at Toyota. Every \u201cmember\u201d (as staff are called) is expected to come up with two \u201ckaizens\u201d (or ideas for improvement) each month. Indeed they are trained in fabrication and welding to enable them to be able to test out their ideas. Time is dedicated to\u00a0kaizen: Each member is allocated 15 minutes a day to identify possible improvements. Managers will try and avoid opposing a change, even if it has been tried before and not worked. A key point of kaizen is personal development: \u201cThe learning comes from the journey.\u201d 3. Intrinsic motivation, not money There are no rewards for any financial gain resulting from the improvements people make. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our people driven by money but by the desire to improve the process.\u201d There are also no individual bonuses, only collective bonuses. 4. Standardise, then improve There is a sense of empowerment and engagement wherever you go at Toyota. But there is no sense of anarchy. Every process is carefully documented. \u201cEvery member is encouraged to improve the current process, but that standardisation makes it easy to return to the old process if the idea doesn\u2019t work.\u201d If the idea works, then the new approach is standardised and written down as a process by the member who created the improvement. \u201cWithout standardisation there can be no kaizen,\u201d said Toyota founder Taiichi Ohno. 4. Each Toyota assembly line is different When a new engine is created, or a new car rolled out, each plant will be equipped with the same assembly line and set of standardised processes. However each plant is continually innovating and, although\u00a0yokoten (sharing)\u00a0means many innovations get adopted at other plants, some don\u2019t. The expectation that every member is continually seeking improvement means that every Toyota assembly line is different. There is standardisation of processes on each line but seems to be no desire for standardisation across sites. The Toyota plant I visited in Deeside had a slightly old fashioned look to it. But this is apparently the most productive Toyota assembly line on the planet, being the first to achieve an engine every 48 seconds. 5. Small changes matter A kaizen doesn\u2019t have to be huge. One example was a lever that popped up a screw, meaning the member didn\u2019t need to bend down to pick it up. It was estimated to save two tenths of a second. \u201cWe build ten million cars a year. Save two tenths of a second on each one and that\u2019s a gain of 560 person hours.\u201d Do one thousand of those a month (two for each of the 500 staff at the Deeside plant) and, if they are shared across the whole company, you\u2019ve gained half a million person hours. 6. Quality Control Circles: Full involvement Twice a month the assembly lines shut down for half an hour as every member gathers into their QCCs (Quality Control Circles). Here they study the data and learn more about what is going on in their section and throughout the company. This may result in further improvements but \u201cthat is not the point. The aim is development,\u201d and that is what the carefully laid out QCC plans focus on. 7. A no blame culture \u201cWe would never blame the individual. If something goes wrong, it is the process that has gone wrong.\u201d One of the two key pillars of the Toyota system is\u00a0jidoka. Every member can pull a cord to stop the belt if there is a problem to help eliminate the root cause. Team leaders must never criticise a member for pulling the cord, as \u201cwe want them to pull the cord.\u201d \u201cIf you blame somebody for failure, all that will happen is people will start sweeping problems under the carpet.\u201d 8. Systems to prevent error I knew that\u00a0Deming\u00a0(the US management theorist that had such influence on Japanese methods) was clear that errors are caused by processes not by people. But visiting a Toyota assembly line really showed what he meant. Members will repeat the same process 150 times in a two hour session. It would be easy to miss a step or use the wrong part if the process allowed it. Many of the kaizen improvements specifically prevent that. Buckets have green lights which go off if a hand has reached in to collect a part, so you know if you\u2019ve forgotten it. With one component it was too easy to pick up two, so the delivery was altered to physically prevent that. The member we watched was working alternately on different engines with different spark plugs. If both types of spark plugs were available and the member picked the wrong set, that would not be \u201chuman error\u201d but process error. So a plastic shield swings across between the two sets so only the correct one is uncovered. As backup (in case the shield fails) a green light goes on over the correct set of plugs. It is impossible to accidentally use the wrong plugs. It is all fairly low tech but these are simple systems that prevent human error by making it as difficult as possible to make that error. This is known as\u00a0\u201cpoka-yoke\u201d\u00a0or \u201cmistake proofing\u201d and is intrinsic to the Toyota approach. If your system allows somebody","og_url":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/","og_site_name":"Happy","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HappyLtd","article_published_time":"2016-10-05T19:43:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-28T19:49:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/toyota.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Henry Stewart","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@happyltd","twitter_site":"@happyltd","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Henry Stewart","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/"},"author":{"name":"Henry Stewart","@id":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d908b838c968ee1e7ac9fef10a219ddc"},"headline":"12 Ways in Which Toyota Create a Great Workplace","datePublished":"2016-10-05T19:43:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-28T19:49:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/"},"wordCount":1588,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/toyota.webp","articleSection":["Henry's blog","The Happy Manifesto"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/","url":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/12-ways-in-which-toyota-create-a-great-workplace\/","name":"12 Ways in Which Toyota Create a Great Workplace - 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