Toyota Marks 25 Years of Knowledge Sharing with North American Small Business and Non-Profits by Engaging New Sectors

Toyota Production System Helps Make Sustainable Organizations, Produce Jobs, Improve Lives

Ace Metal Crafts in Bensenville, Illinois, needed to find a way to reduce its production lead time.  Harbor-UCLA Medical Center’s eye clinic wanted to serve more patients. SBP sought to reduce the amount of time it takes to rebuild homes after natural disasters. These are some of the more than 300 organizations throughout North America that have collaborated with Toyota to find better ways of doing their day-to-day work.

For 25 years, Toyota Motor North America, through its Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC), has shared the “Toyota Production System,” (TPS) the same operational philosophy and practices the company follows in its own factories to make automobiles.

The company started sharing its know-how with small to mid-sized manufacturers, later expanding and applying the system beyond manufacturing to government entities, non-profits involved in disaster recovery and hunger relief, and, more recently, healthcare organizations.

Today, Toyota announced that its knowledge-sharing efforts will now be extended to sectors including retail and construction, among other sectors in North America.

“Our years of manufacturing experience have taught us that small improvements in a process can make a big difference — and we’ve learned that this approach can help other organizations outside of manufacturing, too,” said Terry Horinouchi, president of TSSC. “Through our collaborations over the years, our partners have acquired the knowledge to feed more clients, build more homes, improve quality of care, gain more business, and preserve or even create jobs in North America.”

The goal of TSSC is to equip non-Toyota organizations with the tools to solve operational problems, maximize available resources, and preserve or even create jobs.  

Through philosophies of TPS, ACE Metals Crafts reduced its production lead time by 38 percent, retained its largest client and added more jobs; Harbor-UCLA Medical Center reduced the time from check-in to discharge by half for their patients and increased the number of new patients seen each day; and SBP reduced the amount of time takes to rebuild a home after a natural disaster from an average of 116 days to 60 days (48 percent improvement).

“Toyota engages other organizations with our know-how so that they can build a culture of continuous improvement,” said Chris Nielsen, executive vice president of product support and chief quality officer of Toyota Motor North America. “We see strong opportunity in organizations in sectors other than automotive or manufacturing, and are excited to see how TSSC can collaborate with them to help improve processes, maximize operations, build more resilient communities, and serve more people.”

To commemorate the 25th anniversary, TSSC held an event with various partners across sectors to share experiences and academia to discuss TPS and how it is applied to various organizations. Panels included, “Made in America: TPS in manufacturing and much more” and “TPS in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead.”