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Taiichi Ohno Biography

Taiichi Ohno (大野耐一, Ōno Taiichi, February 29, 1912 – May 28, 1990) was a Japanese industrial engineer and businessman. He is considered to be the father of the Toyota Production System, which became Lean Manufacturing in the U.S. He devised the seven wastes (or muda in Japanese) as part of this system. He wrote several books about the system, including Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production.

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Taiichi Ohno Quotes

If you are going to do kaizen continuouslyyou've got to assume that things are a mess. Too many people just assume that things are all right the way they are. Aren't you guys convinced that the way you're doing things is the right way? That's no way to get anything done. Kaizen is about changing the way things are. If you assume that things are all right the way they are, you can't do kaizen. So change something!

Changing, Done, Guy, Kaizen, People, Things

The slower but consistent tortoise causes less waste and is more desirable than the speedy hare that races ahead and then stops occasionally to doze. The Toyota Production System can be realized only when all the workers become tortoises.

Causes, Desirable, Race, Tortoise, Tortoises, Waste

Make your workplace into showcase that can be understood by everyone at a glance. In terms of quality, it means to make the defects immediately apparent. In terms of quantity, it means that progress or delay, measured against the plan, and is made immediately apparent. When this is done, problems can be discovered immediately, and everyone can initiate improvement plans.

Defects, Mean, Measured, Problems, Progress, Quality

Data is of course important in manufacturing, but I place the greatest emphasis on facts.

Data, Important, Facts, Place, Manufacturing

The Toyota style is not to create results by working hard. It is a system that says there is no limit to people's creativity. People don't go to Toyota to 'work' they go there to 'think'.

Creativity, Limit, People, Says, Think, Thinking

Having no problems is the biggest problem of all.

Problem, Risk Management, No Problem, Having, Problems

My first move as the manager of the machine shop was to introduce standardized work.

Introduce, Machines, Manager, Moving, Risk, Work

No goal, regardless of how small can be achieved without adequate training.

Adequate, Goal, Regardless, Training

All we are doing is looking at the time line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing the time line by reducing the non-value adding wastes.

Cash, Customer, Giving, Order

We are doomed to failure without a daily destruction of our various preconceptions.

Destruction, Doomed, Preconceptions, Various

And we are reducing the time line by reducing the non-value-added wastes.

Line, Lines, Reducing, Time, Waste, Wastes

No one has more trouble than the person who claims to have no trouble

Claims, Person, Persons, Trouble

Costs do not exist to be calculated. Costs exist to be reduced.

Business, Calculated, Cost, Costs, Exist, Lean Manufacturing

Without standards, there can be no improvement.

Improvement, Standards

Also, bad quality causes big disruptions in my river system.

Bad Qualities, Causes, Quality, River, Rivers, System

I’m proud to be Japanese and I wanted my country to succeed. I believed my system was a way that could help us become a modern industrial nation. That is why I had no problem with sharing it with other Japanese companies, even my biggest competitors.

Country, Industrial, Proud, Succeed, Way

Ask 'why' five times about every matter.

Ask, Asks, Five, Matter

Where there is no Standard there can be no Kaizen

Kaizen, Standard, Standards

The more inventory a company has, the less likely they will have what they need.

Company, Inventory, Likely, Needs