At a manufacturing site the focus is often on the production process itself. As a result, up- and down-stream activities seem to receive less attention. If the end-of-line function is in the spotlight, it’s probably because they impacted production.

This departmentalised mindset is detrimental. It neglects the fact that an entire site must function together. It’s bad for culture, degrading the inputs that a team makes to the process; it overlooks improvement opportunities, by not giving due attention to all areas; and worst of all, it can impact the overall output of the plant.

Toyota is iconic for its instrumental role in popularising the Japanese principles of Kaizen in the manufacturing industry. Kaizen translates to ‘improvement’ or ‘change for better’, which is the basis for the Toyota Production System (TPS). TPS is a system of lean manufacturing with the objective of providing the highest quality, at the lowest cost, with the shortest lead time. In How Toyota Became #1, David Magee details these principles, their application within the company, and the impact they have had within.