Gemba Coach
The most common questions about TPS, Toyota, and lean thinking — collected from emails, conferences, and workshops over the years. Hot topics, history, controversial items, and corrections to some of what the internet gets wrong.
"Does Toyota do value stream mapping?"
Does Toyota Do Value Stream Mapping?
Toyota does not draw LEI-style value stream maps or train them internally. But Toyota developed MIFA — the practice value stream mapping is based on — and a small number of specialists still use it.
"Does Toyota practice Toyota Kata?"
Does Toyota Practice Toyota Kata?
Toyota does not use the term Toyota Kata. The word kata maps to many different kanji in Japanese — none match what the book describes. Toyota's actual practices for coaching and improvement are Toyota Leadership Training Methods, FMDS, and 3 Pillar Activity.
"Does Toyota do TPM or measure OEE?"
Does Toyota Use TPM or Measure OEE?
Toyota has never had an official TPM program or used OEE as a metric. But in machine-intensive environments, Toyota built up many of the same elements independently through its own system.
"Does everyone in Toyota create A3 reports for problem solving?"
Does Everyone in Toyota Write A3 Reports for Problem Solving?
Everyone in Toyota learns to write A3 reports, but most problems are solved verbally or with simpler task-specific forms. A3 reports are triggered by harder, recurring, or safety-critical problems.
"Is it 4S or 5S inside Toyota?"
Is It 4S or 5S Inside Toyota?
Toyota used 4S as the company standard for decades. The fifth S was added outside Japan to compensate for cultural differences. The worldwide standard is now 5S, but the original inside Toyota was 4S.
"Is it Gemba or Genba?"
Is It Gemba or Genba?
The correct romanization is Genba (現場). But Gemba won in the English-speaking lean world after Jim Womack's Gemba Walks. The Japanese language has no single consonant M — the 'n' just sounds like 'm' to American ears.
"What is the difference between value stream mapping and process mapping?"
Value Stream Mapping vs Process Mapping
Process mapping records activities as a flowchart. Value stream mapping diagrams material and information flows from order to delivery. Toyota modified process mapping into MIFA; LEI renamed it value stream mapping.