The Toyota Way

Toyota is famous for its just-in-time production system, but this system would be nothing without the company’s original, consistent and performance-oriented culture and management practices. Drafted by a Toyota specialist, based on field studies and interviews with many executives, this book offers a complete and detailed overview of this company different from the rest.
Presented in chapter 2, Toyota's history highlights the origin of many practices that are still applied to this day. This chapter should be paired with chapter 7, devoted to the long-term culture that permeates the company.
The purely operational aspects of the Toyota model are evoked in chapters 8 (part-to-part flow), 9 (demand-driven production system), 10 (production streamlining) and 12 (task standardization).
The efficiency of this system depends largely, however, on the practices followed by those who implement it. These are described in chapters 3 (eliminating waste), 11 (immediately resolving problems), 13 (using visual metrics), 14 (integrating technology), 18 (interacting with the field) and 20 (searching for continuous improvement).
Chapters 15 and 16 evoke the philosophy behind Toyota's human resource management policy, which is also illustrated by the collective decision-making process described in chapter 19. This philosophy also permeates the establishment of partnerships with suppliers, highlighted in chapter 17.
Two case studies demonstrate all of these principles at work: the Lexus (chapter 5) and the Prius (chapter 6).
The book concludes with chapters 21 and 22, which make suggestions on how Toyota’s successful formulas can be applied intelligently to other companies, citing examples such as Wiremold and CPC.