Articles, research, reference material, and canonical learning guides on the Toyota Production System, lean manufacturing, A3 thinking, kaizen, and leadership by Art Smalley.https://artoflean.com/en-usSun, 19 Jul 2026 16:18:38 GMThttps://artoflean.com/articles/hoshin-kanri-vs-okrs/https://artoflean.com/articles/hoshin-kanri-vs-okrs/Hoshin kanri is a company-wide management system that took shape inside Japanese TQC companies in the 1960s. OKRs are a goal-setting framework that descends from Drucker's MBO through Andy Grove at Intel. This article covers the two histories, the common claim that both descend from MBO, and the structural differences.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriOKRPolicy DeploymentStrategy DeploymentToyotaTQCArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/how-to-implement-hoshin-kanri/https://artoflean.com/articles/how-to-implement-hoshin-kanri/Implement hoshin kanri by building capability before ceremony: stable daily management and problem solving first, and on that foundation the elements of the system together, a layered written hoshin, catchball deployment, horizontal coordination, and a real review mechanism. The document can be drafted in weeks. The working system is a multi-year capability build.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriPolicy DeploymentImplementationDaily ManagementToyotaPDCAArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/what-are-the-7-steps-of-hoshin-kanri/https://artoflean.com/articles/what-are-the-7-steps-of-hoshin-kanri/The seven steps of hoshin kanri, as commonly taught, run from vision through breakthrough objectives, annual objectives, catchball deployment, execution, and monthly and annual reviews. This article explains each step, where the seven-step model comes from, and how it differs from the practice at Toyota.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriPolicy DeploymentStrategy DeploymentToyotaPDCACatchballArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/what-does-hoshin-kanri-mean-in-japanese/https://artoflean.com/articles/what-does-hoshin-kanri-mean-in-japanese/Hoshin kanri (方針管理) combines hoshin (方針), the ordinary Japanese word for a policy or course of action, with kanri (管理), meaning management or control. The kanji break down as 方 (direction) + 針 (needle) and 管 (control) + 理 (reason). Common translations like policy deployment and compass management all flatten the original meaning.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriJapanese LanguagePolicy DeploymentToyotaTQCArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/what-is-catchball-in-hoshin-kanri/https://artoflean.com/articles/what-is-catchball-in-hoshin-kanri/Catchball (キャッチボール) is the two-way negotiation through which hoshin targets and methods are aligned between organizational levels. It is a real term used inside Toyota, said in English and written in katakana. The dialogue continues for as many rounds as it takes until the goal and the methods are both clarified.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriCatchballPolicy DeploymentToyotaNemawashiArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/what-is-the-hoshin-kanri-x-matrix/https://artoflean.com/articles/what-is-the-hoshin-kanri-x-matrix/The hoshin kanri X-matrix is a one-page planning form that arranges breakthrough objectives, annual objectives, improvement priorities, and metrics around a central X. It originated in the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) community, not at Toyota, and Toyota does not use it.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriX-MatrixPolicy DeploymentStrategy DeploymentToyotaTQCArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/who-invented-hoshin-kanri/https://artoflean.com/articles/who-invented-hoshin-kanri/No single person invented hoshin kanri. It took shape inside Japanese companies in the 1960s, out of the Total Quality Control movement built by JUSE scholars like Shigeru Mizuno and Kaoru Ishikawa on inputs from Deming and Juran. The honest answer traces each contributor's timeline, publications, and documented influence on the companies that built the practice.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriTQCToyotaToyota HistoryDeming PrizeArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/why-does-hoshin-kanri-not-work/https://artoflean.com/articles/why-does-hoshin-kanri-not-work/Hoshin kanri does not work when an organization deploys the planning form without the management system behind it: weak daily management underneath, no real review mechanism, too many priorities, skipped catchball, and targets cascaded to individuals. Toyota's own 1978 breakdown and the Kan-Pro response give an instructive case study to learn from.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriPolicy DeploymentDaily ManagementKan-ProToyotaPDCAArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-use-hoshin-kanri/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-use-hoshin-kanri/Yes. Toyota has run hoshin kanri company-wide since January 1963, when the first written Company Hoshin was produced, and it remains the company's core management system. What Toyota practices differs from most Western descriptions: three document layers, personal presidential ownership, a documented audit layer on top of regular reviews, and no X-matrix.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriToyotaPolicy DeploymentToyota Production SystemArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/is-hoshin-kanri-a-lean-tool/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/is-hoshin-kanri-a-lean-tool/In common usage, yes. But hoshin kanri comes in flavors with different lineages: the original Toyota version, a company-wide management system connected to FMDS and 3 Pillar activity on the shop floor; the Western lean-tool version built around the X-matrix, from the QFD lineage; and the MBO/OKR goal-management family. Knowing which flavor you are dealing with matters more than the label.Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTHoshin KanriTQCToyotaToyota Production SystemArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/akihiro-wada-chief-engineer/https://artoflean.com/articles/akihiro-wada-chief-engineer/Akihiro Wada led the Celica, Carina, Carina ED, and Supra over more than ten years as a Toyota chief engineer (shusa), then rose to executive vice president for engineering. His 2008 oral history — a candid, career-spanning interview rather than a written book — is a uniquely first-hand account of how the shusa system works, including his own ten practical rules for the job.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtoyotaproduct-developmentchief-engineershusahistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/chief-engineer-authority/https://artoflean.com/articles/chief-engineer-authority/The Toyota chief engineer has full responsibility for a vehicle and no command authority over the engineers. Toyota withheld that authority on purpose, as a way to train the role through persuasion.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTchief-engineertoyotaproduct-developmentauthorityshusaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/chief-engineer-mindset/https://artoflean.com/articles/chief-engineer-mindset/The Toyota chief engineer leads with no authority over the engineers. What fills the gap is kokorogake (心掛け), a set of daily mental habits that Toyota's chief engineers each wrote down, and that converge.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTchief-engineertoyotaproduct-developmentkokorogakemindsetArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/chief-engineer-principles/https://artoflean.com/articles/chief-engineer-principles/Tatsuo Hasegawa wrote the original ten principles for the Toyota chief engineer, private, handwritten, and marked confidential. Here they are in full, with the original Japanese and a literal translation, plus the later sets by Wada and Kitagawa.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTchief-engineertoyotaproduct-developmenthasegawaten-principlesArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/eiji-adachi-chief-engineer/https://artoflean.com/articles/eiji-adachi-chief-engineer/Eiji Adachi was a Toyota chief engineer who wrote the most detailed insider account of the job. His book Toyota Product Development shows the real craft of leading a car with almost no authority to command anyone: persuasion as the only lever, cost run as a formal event, and a post with no tenure.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtoyotaproduct-developmentchief-engineershusahistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/naoto-kitagawa-chief-engineer/https://artoflean.com/articles/naoto-kitagawa-chief-engineer/Naoto Kitagawa was a Toyota chief engineer from 1996 to 2005, and led the bB to the world's first prototype-less development. His book Toyota Chief Engineer's Work is the newest first-person account of the role, and argues that the chief engineer, not TPS alone, is the real source of Toyota's strength.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtoyotaproduct-developmentchief-engineershusahistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/shigeyuki-hori-chief-engineer/https://artoflean.com/articles/shigeyuki-hori-chief-engineer/Shigeyuki Hori was a Toyota chief engineer for fifteen years across fifteen vehicle programs. His book Automotive Planning and Development is the most candid insider account of the chief engineer's real job: honest cost engineering down to the part, the groundwork done before a program is approved, and the political danger of reporting numbers superiors do not want to hear.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtoyotaproduct-developmentchief-engineershusahistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/uchiyamada-prius-chief-engineer/https://artoflean.com/articles/uchiyamada-prius-chief-engineer/Takeshi Uchiyamada led the first Prius as chief engineer with no product-development background. He could not lead the traditional shusa way, so he put the whole team and the whole car in one room — the obeya. How he integrated the car, led engineers he couldn't command, and met an impossible deadline.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTtoyotaproduct-developmentchief-engineershusapriushybridobeyahistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/what-does-shusa-mean/https://artoflean.com/articles/what-does-shusa-mean/Shusa (主査) is the original Japanese name for the role now called the Toyota Chief Engineer. The literal meaning, chief examiner, is harder to translate, but it reveals how the role was meant to work.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTchief-engineertoyotaproduct-developmentshusajapaneseArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/adp-countermeasure-hierarchy/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/adp-countermeasure-hierarchy/A-D-P stands for Administration, Detection, Prevention — a hierarchy for evaluating countermeasure strength introduced by Art Smalley in Four Types of Problems. It applies to operational countermeasures on the shop floor. Upstream in product development, Toyota uses mizen-boushi for pre-occurrence prevention.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTProblem SolvingCountermeasuresPoka-YokeQualityJidokaMizen-BoushiArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/gemba/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/gemba/Gemba (現場, correctly romanized genba) means 'the actual place' — the physical location where work happens. It is ordinary Japanese, not a Toyota invention. Toyota made it a management principle: go to where the work happens to understand what is really going on.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTGembaToyota Production SystemGo and SeeArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/gemba-walk/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/gemba-walk/'Gemba walk' is a Western lean term for a structured management visit to the production floor. Toyota does not use this term. What Toyota practices is genchi genbutsu — going to the actual place to observe the actual thing — which is problem-driven, not calendar-driven.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTGembaGemba WalkGenchi GenbutsuToyota Production SystemArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/genchi-genbutsu/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/genchi-genbutsu/Genchi genbutsu (現地現物) means 'actual place, actual thing.' It is the Toyota practice of going physically to where work happens and observing real conditions directly before making decisions. It belongs to a family of principles called san gen shugi — the three actuals.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTGenchi GenbutsuGembaToyota Production SystemGo and SeeThree Gen PrinciplesArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/is-one-piece-flow-always-better/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/is-one-piece-flow-always-better/Flow is always better than batch production or stagnation — that is foundational in TPS. But the question conflates flow with one-piece flow and one-piece flow with the whole of JIT. Flow (nagareka) is one principle alongside takt time, pull, and leveling. The real distinction is between one-piece flow (ideal state) and small-lot production (current-state reality).Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTOne-Piece FlowContinuous FlowToyota Production SystemJust-In-TimeArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/jidoka/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/jidoka/Jidoka (自働化) means automation with a human touch — machines that detect abnormalities and stop themselves. The concept traces to Toyoda Sakichi's automatic loom, but auto-stop mechanisms existed in textile machinery decades earlier. Toyota's contribution was elevating the mechanism into one of the two pillars of the Toyota Production System.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTJidokaBuild in QualityToyota Production SystemToyoda SakichiArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-does-a-lean-promotion-office-do/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-does-a-lean-promotion-office-do/A lean promotion office (LPO) or kaizen promotion office (KPO) is a staff group supporting improvement across an organization. The concept was sold to Western companies in the 1990s as Toyota's model — but Toyota's OMCD did something fundamentally different. The history matters because it explains why so many promotion offices failed.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTLean Promotion OfficeKPOOMCDToyota Production SystemOrganizational DesignArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-does-fmds-stand-for/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-does-fmds-stand-for/FMDS stands for Floor Management Development System. In Japanese it is nichijō kanri ban (日常管理板) — daily management board. It is a physical board that connects company policy to shop floor activities through layered KPIs. The 'D' matters most: the system develops the group leader's management capability.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTFMDSDaily ManagementVisual ManagementToyota Production SystemPeople DevelopmentArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-does-jishuken-mean/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-does-jishuken-mean/Jishuken (自主研) means 'voluntary self-study' at Toyota. The formal Jishu Kenkyukai was founded in October 1976 by Toyota's OMCD to develop TPS capability in its supplier base. It is a hands-on group study activity on the shop floor — not a kaizen event. The five-day workshop format later marketed in the West is a consultant adaptation, not the original.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTJishukenOMCDKaizenToyota Production SystemSupplier DevelopmentArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-is-a-qc-circle/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/what-is-a-qc-circle/A QC circle is a small group of frontline workers who voluntarily study problems, learn analytical methods, and make improvements in their own work area. The practice originated in Japan in 1962 through JUSE. Toyota had 4,800 registered QC circles for example in 2001. Circles are a vehicle for personal development and learning — not a quality management mechanism.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTQC CirclesQualityToyota Production SystemTQMArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/who-defined-seven-wastes/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/who-defined-seven-wastes/Taiichi Ohno is credited with the seven wastes, but he assembled them from existing Industrial Engineering sources — not invented from scratch. Five map to ASME process chart symbols from 1947, one reflects Toyota's emphasis on overproduction, and one fills a gap from time and motion study. The framework was never meant to be exhaustive.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTSeven WastesMudaToyota Production SystemTaiichi OhnoIndustrial EngineeringArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/why-does-kaizen-fail/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/why-does-kaizen-fail/Most kaizen efforts fail because organizations never make the transition from running improvement events to building an operating and management system that sustains results daily. The deeper causes: no standardized work baseline, methodology without technical depth, and leadership disconnected from the genba.Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTKaizenContinuous ImprovementToyota Production SystemStandardized WorkArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/mistake-vs-error-proofing/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/mistake-vs-error-proofing/In lean practice the two terms are used interchangeably. The distinction that matters isn't the words — it's mental slips versus planning mistakes, and knowing which you are dealing with changes where you aim the countermeasure.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTPoka-YokeError ProofingQualityJidokaMizen-BoushiArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/mizen-boushi/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/mizen-boushi/Mizen-boushi means prevention before occurrence — anticipating a failure and preventing it before it ever happens, upstream in design and development. It is the opposite of reacting to a problem after the fact, and the upstream end of the prevention picture that poka-yoke sits inside.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTMizen-BoushiProblem PreventionQualityProduct DevelopmentToyota Production SystemArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/muda-mura-muri/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/muda-mura-muri/Muda is waste, mura is unevenness, muri is overburden. Most explanations treat them as three separate categories. Inside Toyota they are treated as one connected system — mura creates muri, and both generate muda. Heijunka (leveling) is the countermeasure to all three.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTMudaMuraMuriToyota Production SystemHeijunkaWasteArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/poka-yoke/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/poka-yoke/Yes, poka-yoke is a lean tool — but it isn't a Toyota-only idea and wasn't invented by one person. The original term baka-yoke was used across Japanese industry; inside Toyota it is a form of jidoka. Shingo gets full credit for popularizing it in writing.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTPoka-YokeJidokaToyota Production SystemShigeo ShingoQualityArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/standardized-work-chart/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/standardized-work-chart/A Standardized Work Chart is the best known organization of human motion for a job based on current conditions — layout, walk path, sequence, standard WIP, and safety/quality checks against takt time. It is dynamic: it changes with takt time and with kaizen. It is NOT an SOP. It is the final form of a three-form analysis.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTStandardized WorkToyota Production SystemJust-in-TimeKaizenArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/standardized-work-three-forms-three-elements/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/standardized-work-three-forms-three-elements/Standardized work in the Toyota Production System rests on three elements — takt time, work sequence, and standard work-in-process — and is developed through three linked forms: the Process Capacity Sheet, the Standardized Work Combination Table, and the Standardized Work Chart.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTStandardized WorkToyota Production SystemJust-in-TimeKaizenArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/takt-time/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/takt-time/Takt time is not a KPI. It is a design constraint — the pace you design the work to, derived from customer demand divided by available time. It is one of three elements of standardized work and a key piece of Just-in-Time production.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTakt TimeJust-in-TimeStandardized WorkToyota Production SystemArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/tps-vs-lean/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/tps-vs-lean/TPS is Toyota's actual production system, developed inside the company over decades. Lean is a Western translation framework derived from selected observations of TPS. The translation has real value, but it is not the original — and mistaking the two has consequences.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTLeanKaizenManagementToyota Production SystemArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/defects-waste-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/defects-waste-toyota-production-system/Defects waste in TPS is any output not made right the first time — rework, scrap, and the inspection and correction activity they generate. Toyota treats it as a process design failure, not a worker error, and eliminates it by building quality into each step rather than inspecting it in at the end.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaDefectsJidokaPoka-YokeQualityArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/inventory-waste-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/inventory-waste-toyota-production-system/Inventory waste in the Toyota Production System is stock beyond the minimum required to sustain production — Toyota targets right-sized inventory controlled by kanban, not zero inventory.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaInventoryKanbanStandardized WorkArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/motion-waste-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/motion-waste-toyota-production-system/Motion waste in the Toyota Production System is any operator body movement during a work cycle that does not directly advance the process or add value to the product — distinguished from transportation, which moves materials.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaMotionStandardized WorkTherbligsArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/muda-mura-muri-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/muda-mura-muri-toyota-production-system/Muda (waste), mura (unevenness), and muri (overburden) are three complementary lenses Toyota uses to find inefficiency. Western lean fixates on muda. Toyota teaches all three together — and mura and muri are often more actionable.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaMudaMuraMuriWasteHeijunkaLevelingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/overproduction-waste-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/overproduction-waste-toyota-production-system/Overproduction waste in the Toyota Production System means producing more than needed or earlier than needed — and it is considered the worst waste because it triggers every other form of waste while disguising itself as productive work.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaOverproductionJust-in-TimeKanbanArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/processing-waste-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/processing-waste-toyota-production-system/Processing waste in the Toyota Production System refers to wasted time and effort within a processing step itself — caused by poor tooling, inadequate fixtures, or flawed methods — not simply doing too much processing.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaProcessingProduction EngineeringToolingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/seven-wastes-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/seven-wastes-toyota-production-system/The seven wastes (7 muda) in the Toyota Production System are overproduction, waiting, transportation, processing, inventory, motion, and defects. Five of the seven trace directly to Industrial Engineering process analysis categories standardized by ASME in 1947.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaSeven WastesMudaIndustrial EngineeringASMEArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/transportation-waste-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/transportation-waste-toyota-production-system/Transportation waste in TPS is every unnecessary movement of materials — not just excessive distance, but every instance of temporary staging, restacking, and repositioning between warehouse and operator hands.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaTransportationMaterial HandlingLayoutArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/waiting-waste-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/waiting-waste-toyota-production-system/The waste of waiting (手待ちのムダ, temate no muda) in the Toyota Production System is idle time when an operator cannot advance the process — and Toyota considers it the most useful form of waste because it is the easiest to see.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaWaitingStandardized WorkMulti-Machine OperationArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/work-and-waste-in-the-toyota-production-system/https://artoflean.com/articles/work-and-waste-in-the-toyota-production-system/In the Toyota Production System, all activity divides into work and waste. Work advances the process and adds value; waste adds cost without adding value. Eliminating waste is the means — cost reduction is the purpose.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPSToyotaWasteMudaEfficiencyCost ReductionArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-do-value-stream-mapping/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/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.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTValue Stream MappingToyota Production SystemMIFAArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-practice-toyota-kata/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-practice-toyota-kata/Toyota does not use the term Toyota Kata. The word kata maps to many different kanji in Japanese — none exactly match what the book describes. Toyota's actual practices for coaching and improvement are Toyota Leadership Training Methods, FMDS, and 3 Pillar Activity.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTToyota KataToyota Production SystemProblem SolvingJapanese LanguageArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-use-tpm-or-oee/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-use-tpm-or-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.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTTPMOEEToyota Production SystemMaintenanceArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-write-a3-reports-for-every-problem/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/does-toyota-write-a3-reports-for-every-problem/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.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTA3 ThinkingProblem SolvingToyota Production SystemPDCAArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/is-it-4s-or-5s-inside-toyota/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/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.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT5SToyota Production SystemWorkplace OrganizationArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/is-it-gemba-or-genba/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/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.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTGembaJapanese LanguageToyota Production SystemArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/value-stream-mapping-vs-process-mapping/https://artoflean.com/gemba-coach/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.Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTValue Stream MappingProcess MappingToyota Production SystemIndustrial EngineeringArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/the-missing-rungs-leadership-lab-and-crowd/https://artoflean.com/articles/the-missing-rungs-leadership-lab-and-crowd/Ethan Mollick names the right groups but skips the structure of how work actually improves — a four-rung ladder of learning, standardizing, improving, and redesigning that most organizations never climb.Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTaikaizenkaikakustandardized-workleadershipArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/research/kenya-nakamura-first-chief-engineer/https://artoflean.com/research/kenya-nakamura-first-chief-engineer/Kenya Nakamura built Toyota's first chief engineer (shusa) role through sheer force of will on the original Crown — and put the 'soul' into a system that became Toyota's signature advantage in product development. The story of the man who built a 2,000-ton press, then Japan's first true domestic passenger car.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTtoyotaproduct-developmentchief-engineershusahistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/research/tatsuo-hasegawa-shusa-system-architect/https://artoflean.com/research/tatsuo-hasegawa-shusa-system-architect/Kenya Nakamura proved one strong leader could pull a car together. Tatsuo Hasegawa — an aeronautical engineer who designed high-altitude interceptors before the war — made it a system: target costing borrowed from aircraft weight budgets, the '80-point plus alpha' philosophy, the Product Planning Office, and the Ten Principles of the chief engineer.Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTtoyotaproduct-developmentchief-engineershusatarget-costinghistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/operational-audits-the-missing-feedback-loop-in-hoshin-kanri-20260524t1640/https://artoflean.com/articles/operational-audits-the-missing-feedback-loop-in-hoshin-kanri-20260524t1640/This article is based on a chapter from Global Ten, a Japanese book by Mikio Sugiura, one of the key figures in the early development of Toyota’s Hoshin Kanri system.Sun, 24 May 2026 16:40:32 GMTAI ArticlesAgentic MakeArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/ai-5why-rootcoach/https://artoflean.com/articles/ai-5why-rootcoach/A current-state note on AI, RootCoach, 5 Why analysis, and why stronger models still need disciplined problem-solving logic.Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTAIProblem Solving5 WhyArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/why-standardized-work-is-not-just-an-sop/https://artoflean.com/articles/why-standardized-work-is-not-just-an-sop/Toyota Standardized Work is not simply an SOP with a different label. It connects demand, process capability, human motion, training, supervision, and kaizen.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:59:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/machine-shop-problem-that-gave-birth-to-standardized-work/https://artoflean.com/articles/machine-shop-problem-that-gave-birth-to-standardized-work/The roots of Toyota Standardized Work are in machine-shop problems: human waiting, machine cycles, multi-process handling, takt, and overproduction.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:58:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/three-forms-behind-real-toyota-standardized-work/https://artoflean.com/articles/three-forms-behind-real-toyota-standardized-work/Real Toyota Standardized Work rests on three linked forms: the Process Capacity Sheet, the Combination Table, and the Standardized Work Chart.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:57:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/process-capacity-sheet-where-standardized-work-starts/https://artoflean.com/articles/process-capacity-sheet-where-standardized-work-starts/The Process Capacity Sheet grounds Standardized Work in process facts: manual time, automatic time, tool changes, and actual capability.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:56:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-combination-table-human-and-machine-time/https://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-combination-table-human-and-machine-time/The Combination Table makes human work, machine time, walking, waiting, and takt visible in one repeated cycle.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:55:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-chart-final-form-not-starting-point/https://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-chart-final-form-not-starting-point/The Standardized Work Chart is the visible workplace standard condition, but it should be the final form after analysis, not the starting point.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:54:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/work-standards-come-before-standardized-work/https://artoflean.com/articles/work-standards-come-before-standardized-work/Before Standardized Work can stabilize human motion, technical Work Standards must clarify quality, tooling, machine accuracy, gauges, and process conditions.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:53:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-and-job-instruction/https://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-and-job-instruction/A Standardized Work Chart can summarize the current method, but Job Instruction and practice are what teach the job.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:52:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-and-kaizen/https://artoflean.com/articles/standardized-work-and-kaizen/Standardized Work and kaizen grew together at Toyota: the standard gives a baseline, and kaizen improves the method.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:51:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/why-toyota-standardized-work-is-still-unique/https://artoflean.com/articles/why-toyota-standardized-work-is-still-unique/Toyota Standardized Work remains unique because the visible forms sit inside a self-reinforcing system of demand, capacity, teaching, supervision, and kaizen.Sat, 09 May 2026 09:50:00 GMTStandardized WorkTPSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/the-a3-book-that-was-too-small-for-an-a3/https://artoflean.com/articles/the-a3-book-that-was-too-small-for-an-a3/A short reflection on the publishing compromise behind Understanding A3 Thinking, restoring a full-size A3 example online, and why AI-assisted problem solving may help make A3 logic more visible.Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTA3Problem SolvingAIArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/the-new-pdca-prompt-do-check-act/https://artoflean.com/articles/the-new-pdca-prompt-do-check-act/A practical reflection on using PDCA as the working loop for better AI-assisted coding, A3 evaluation, article drafting, and everyday knowledge work.Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTAIPDCAProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/tpds-and-lppd-are-not-the-same-thing/https://artoflean.com/articles/tpds-and-lppd-are-not-the-same-thing/LPPD is a Western translation framework derived from Toyota-style development. TPDS is Toyota's actual product-development system. Six differences worth keeping straight.Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTProduct DevelopmentLPPDTPDSToyotaArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/strange-new-world-of-ai-second-brain/https://artoflean.com/articles/strange-new-world-of-ai-second-brain/How I connected Obsidian, Claude Code, and Telegram into a personal AI system that travels with me everywhere — and what it tells us about where this technology is going.Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTAIProductivityTechnologyArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/research/pdca-history/https://artoflean.com/research/pdca-history/The full history of the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle — from Taylor and Shewhart in America to Mizuno and Ishikawa in Japan. Most people attribute PDCA to Deming, who neither created it nor fully endorsed it. The real story is far more interesting.Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTleantoyotaqualityproblem-solvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/research/machine-that-changed-the-world/https://artoflean.com/research/machine-that-changed-the-world/Still the most comprehensive, empirical, enterprise-level explanation of Toyota ever produced — and the most important work ever written on what came to be called Lean. A retrospective review of why Machine remains the defining work, 35 years later.Sat, 20 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTleantoyotacase-studiesArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/research/toyota-product-development-history/https://artoflean.com/research/toyota-product-development-history/A structured history of Toyota's product development engineering organization, tracing its evolution from a small automotive group inside a loom manufacturer in the 1930s to today's mobility-era development structures.Sun, 14 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTleantoyotatechnologyleadership-managementcase-studiesArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/art-lean-coaching-problem-solving-part-1-framework-discussion/https://artoflean.com/articles/art-lean-coaching-problem-solving-part-1-framework-discussion/This is part of a new series of short videos that we shot for the Lean Enterprise Institute. The first video talks about a general framework Art Smalley uses...Thu, 08 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMTProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/art-lean-coaching-problem-solving-part-2-lessons-nba/https://artoflean.com/articles/art-lean-coaching-problem-solving-part-2-lessons-nba/In part 2 of this series Art Smalley continues his look at coaching problem solving from various vantage points outside of Lean. This time he \"steals\" and...Thu, 08 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMTProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/10-favorite-problem-solving-quotes/https://artoflean.com/articles/10-favorite-problem-solving-quotes/I love problems solving. It was my favorite thing to learn and work on early in my career and still is today. Something about the feeling and sense of...Thu, 13 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTManagementPDCAProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/10-tips-coaching-problem-solving/https://artoflean.com/articles/10-tips-coaching-problem-solving/Have you ever struggled to give good coaching advice to someone delivering a problem solving presentation? Giving good feedback is difficult and takes...Thu, 06 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTCoachingLeadershipProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/gbmp-ne-lean-conference-slides-video-announcement/https://artoflean.com/articles/gbmp-ne-lean-conference-slides-video-announcement/Here is a video announcement pertaining to my presentation at the 15th annual North East Lean Conference in Hartford Connecticut by the Greater Boston...Thu, 06 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMTAnnouncementsPresentation MaterialArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/situational-leadership-toyota-style-coaching-4-types-problems/https://artoflean.com/articles/situational-leadership-toyota-style-coaching-4-types-problems/An 18-minute video on Situational Leadership theory, Toyota coaching styles, and how they connect to the 4 Types of Problems framework.Mon, 27 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTCoachingLeadershipManagementProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/4-types-problems-hotel-nightmare-video/https://artoflean.com/articles/4-types-problems-hotel-nightmare-video/Here is a recent example of something that happened to me in a hotel room at a lean conference! I decided to make a short video example out of the whole...Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/toyotas-lean-living-city/https://artoflean.com/articles/toyotas-lean-living-city/Sounds pretty interesting. Only the Japanese could somehow combine homes with intricate woodworking joinery and robots....Tue, 07 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMTArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/new-problem-solving-mastery-website/https://artoflean.com/articles/new-problem-solving-mastery-website/This post is to officially announce my newest website problemsolvingmastery.comhttps://www.problemsolvingmastery.com/!!! In the view below I will explain some...Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTAnnouncementsArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/4-tps-video-blurb/https://artoflean.com/articles/4-tps-video-blurb/Here is a short thank you note to the folks at LEI and a video announcement of my latest book. I tried out a website called AutoMagical over the weekend as a...Sun, 14 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTAnnouncementsPDCAProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/4-types-problems-ready-order/https://artoflean.com/articles/4-types-problems-ready-order/Announcement: Art Smalley's book 4 Types of Problems, published by the Lean Enterprise Institute, became available for order in October 2018.Sun, 14 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/4-types-problems/https://artoflean.com/articles/4-types-problems/Now available at the LEIMon, 08 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMTArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/toyota-control-charts-1950s-example/https://artoflean.com/articles/toyota-control-charts-1950s-example/An example of a control chart used in Toyota in the 1950'sSun, 26 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMTJidoka / Build in QualityTPS HistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/practice-over-theory/https://artoflean.com/articles/practice-over-theory/Ohno resisted codifying TPS for two decades — TPS is a skill learned by doing. The first internal TPS manual (1973) carried his foreword 'Practice Over Theory.'Tue, 18 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMTTPS HistoryArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/is-it-genba-or-gemba/https://artoflean.com/articles/is-it-genba-or-gemba/Genba is the technically correct Japanese spelling (現場); 'gemba' arose because n before b sounds like m in English. Both mean the actual place where work is done.Fri, 23 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTCoachingProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/continuous-improvement/https://artoflean.com/articles/continuous-improvement/Call it kaizen or continuous improvement or whatever term you prefer. In the end if you don't deliver results you won't be in business for long. The two...Thu, 22 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/john-shook-testimonial/https://artoflean.com/articles/john-shook-testimonial/ArtofLean.com// with its substantive content both historical and up-to-date is a great place to go to verify the consistency of your lean...Thu, 22 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTTestimonialsArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/leadership-development/https://artoflean.com/articles/leadership-development/The number one area most organizations struggle with is leadership development. Toyota was lucky to have highly skilled leaders such as Eiji Toyoda, Taiichi...Thu, 22 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/marek-piatkowski-testimonial/https://artoflean.com/articles/marek-piatkowski-testimonial/A great resource and highly valuable for anyone interested in applying Toyota Production System / Lean TransformationThu, 22 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTTestimonialsArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/russ-scaffede-testimonial/https://artoflean.com/articles/russ-scaffede-testimonial/This is one of the most dynamic websites for lean practitioners I have ever seen. This site is loaded with first had information accumulated and presented by...Thu, 22 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTTestimonialsArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/monterrey-mexico-lean-conference-2016/https://artoflean.com/articles/monterrey-mexico-lean-conference-2016/I accepted an invitation to speak at a lean conference in Monterrey Mexico on September 6th and 7th. I delivered the opening keynote and two workshops all on...Wed, 21 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTPresentation MaterialProblem SolvingArt Smalleyhttps://artoflean.com/articles/problem-solving-interview-with-lei/https://artoflean.com/articles/problem-solving-interview-with-lei/Chet Marchwinski of LEI conducted a short interview with Art Smalley regarding problem solving and improvement. The video was just posted on-line by LEI at the...Wed, 21 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMTManagementProblem SolvingArt Smalley