Henkaten is an approach by Toyota to deal with changes in their manufacturing system. It is one of the lesser-known words of the lean vocabulary. Often translated as “change point,” it is about managing a change. However, there is no magic behind yet another Japanese word. It is all just the basics like most methods in lean manufacturing: attention to details, standards, and visual management. Let me show you!
Toyota
Any posts related to companies from the Toyota Group, including Toyota Motor, Denso, etc., and its people.
Lessons Learned from the Toyota KPI Dashboard for Your Own Dashboard
In my series of posts on the Toyota KPI dashboard I went into detail about the different sections and KPIs. These dashboards work well fro Toyota. However, this does not mean that they automatically work well for you too. Chances are, you are not making cars. Even if you are, your relevant KPI information may be different from Toyota’s. Let’s have a look…
The Toyota KPI Dashboard—Production Plan
In my previous posts I went into great detail through all the categories of the Toyota KPI dashboard: safety, quality, productivity, and cost. I also explained the additional section on HR development, albeit this may not really be KPI in the normal sense. However, the dashboard often contains even more: a section with the monthly production plan, a section for the allocation of the operator, and different A3s for improvement. Lets dig deeper:
The Toyota KPI Dashboard—Human Resources
With the KPI groups safety, quality, productivity, and cost, this series on the Toyota KPI dashboard has covered the main topics. However, there is more. Not always but often you can also find a section on human resources (HR) development. Yet, these are usually not KPI, but more organizational topics that may be part of the daily shop floor meeting. Below are some examples of how this section could look, although this may vary quite a bit among different Toyota plants. Let’s have a look:
The Toyota KPI Dashboard—Cost
In my series on the Toyota KPI dashboard, after safety, quality, and productivity, we finally arrive at cost. While for some companies it is the number one factor, for Toyota it is far behind safety, quality, and productivity. The argument is that if safety, quality, and productivity are in line, it is likely that cost is also good. Both a lack of quality and a lack of productivity will drive up the cost.
The Toyota KPI Dashboard—Productivity
This post in my series on the Toyota KPI dashboard looks at productivity. After safety and quality, this is the third-most-important KPI group on the Toyota dashboard. The cost is least important. This section of the dashboard measures different KPIs on the productive output of the system. Let’s have a look.
The Toyota KPI Dashboard—Quality
In this third post of my series on the Toyota dashboard we will be looking in more detail at quality. The quality of Japanese car makers in general and Toyota in particular is quite a bit better than the rest of the world’s. After safety, quality is the second-most-important issue at Toyota, definitely before productivity and cost. They do put in quite some effort for tracking quality… and then put in even more effort to fix these issues! Let’s have a look:
The Toyota KPI Dashboard—Safety
In my last post I showed you an overview of the Toyota KPI dashboard. This time I will look in more detail at the first (and arguably most important) section on safety. And, while I’m at it, let me also tell you some more about safety at Toyota.