Following up on my recent post on the tour of the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas (TMMTX) plant in San Antonio, here are some pictures from the visitor center… You can compare this to what was displayed at the Toyota Museum in Nagoya, Japan and two pictures (in this post) from the visitor center of a Toyota plant in Japan.
Cameras aren't allowed in the factory, though, so no pictures there. A good portion of the visitor center focuses on the Toyota Production System:
“Can you speak Toyota?”
To those who might say that Lean / TPS is only about efficiency and not also quality:
The visitor center has a small robot that kids can watch… and, of course, the robot is properly locked out and even has a safety checklist in a standardized work format. It doesn't really seem to be part of the exhibit… it's just required.
What do you think? Please scroll down (or click) to post a comment. Or please share the post with your thoughts on LinkedIn.
Don't want to miss a post or podcast? Subscribe to get notified about posts via email daily or weekly.
Mark's new book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation.
He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean.
Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.
[…] Photo from Toyota’s San Antonio Plant Visitor Center, taken by Mark Graban […]
[…] when you visit the Toyota plant visitor center in San Antonio, they really highlight the Toyota Production System (or Lean). The Auto Show is all about the autos… but I saw something funny that reminded me […]