Definition
A management point (管理点, kanri-ten) is a specific management item selected for priority focus: the part of a department metric that the workplace has decided to manage closely for a period. An inspection point (点検点, tenken-ten) is a specific condition within that item that the supervisor checks and the manager audits, because the condition decides whether the management item succeeds. Both terms are common on Toyota daily management boards, the FMDS board, and the pattern is broader than any board.
The two terms are rungs in a scaffold that Toyota builds from a department metric down to the standards on the floor.
- KPI. A department metric, such as scrap.
- Management point. The specific item within that metric selected for focus. A Pareto of the scrap shows first-part scrap after tool changes is the largest contributor, so first-part scrap after tool changes becomes the management point.
- Inspection point. The specific conditions within that item to check and audit. For first-part scrap after tool changes: how the tool is set, spindle runout, and any other measurable condition that makes or breaks the setup.
- Standards. The work standards, standardized work, and Job Instruction beneath the inspection point that define how the tool is set and how runout is measured, so the condition is met the same way every time.
Each rung narrows the one above. The KPI says what the department is measured on. The management point says which part of that the group manages now. The inspection point says what to look at day to day. The standards say how to do the work so the inspection point passes. Auditing runs the other way: the manager confirms the inspection points are being checked, and the management point trend shows whether the checks are working.
The scaffold cannot be built on everything. Toyota erects the scaffold on the few items selected for priority focus, which is why a board carries a small number of management points, each with a short list of inspection points. The Job Breakdown Sheet follows the same pattern: a step, then the few key points that decide whether the step succeeds.
Japanese Origin
管理 (kanri) means management. 点検 (tenken) means inspection or checking. 点 (ten) means point, here in the sense of an item that is watched. The pairing follows the older TQC distinction between control items (管理項目, kanri kōmoku), which measure results, and check items (点検項目, tenken kōmoku), which measure the causes a manager can act on. On the daily management board the same logic appears as a result called out for attention, with the checkable conditions listed under that result.
How Management Points and Inspection Points Appear on the Board
Each column of the daily management board carries one workplace hoshin item (職場方針, shokuba hōshin), the management points chosen under that item, and beneath each management point its inspection points. The management point is plotted as a trend against a target line, usually by month. The inspection points are checked at the process and recorded on the board every day, by hand, by the person responsible. The daily judgment is whether the day is normal or abnormal against the target line. The full description of the board is in Toyota Floor Management Development System (FMDS).
How Management Points and Inspection Points Differ
A management point is a management item, few in number, tied to the workplace hoshin, and tracked as a trend for the life of that hoshin item. An inspection point is a condition within that item. An inspection point is something a supervisor can look at on the floor and confirm, is checked daily, and can be audited by the next level up.
Inspection points are rarely invented for the board. The conditions that make or break a job usually exist already, as key points on a Job Breakdown Sheet, as details written into a work standard, or as knowledge an experienced operator carries and a new one does not. Selecting a management point pulls those conditions out of the standards and out of people's heads and puts them on the board where they are checked every day and audited. When the management point reaches its target and holds, the daily checking on the board can stop, and the conditions go on being held through the standards and Job Instruction they came from.
Common Misunderstandings
Managing by results only. A board that carries management points and no inspection points records outcomes without tracking what the group is doing about them. The inspection points are what make the board a management tool rather than a scoreboard.
Treating the inspection point as a generic leading indicator. An inspection point is not any leading measure. An inspection point is a specific condition, tied to a specific management point, that a supervisor can physically check and a manager can audit.
Trying to do this on everything. The mistake is not applying the Pareto principle. A management point is chosen because the Pareto shows that item is the largest contributor to the metric. Setting management points and inspection points on every item in every metric spreads attention across everything and focuses on nothing.