Taiichi Ohno Quotes & Sayings

My first move as the manager of the machine shop was to introduce standardized work. — Taiichi Ohno

If you are going to do kaizen continuouslyyou've got to assume that things are a mess. Too many people just assume that things are all right the way they are. Aren't you guys convinced that the way you're doing things is the right way? That's no way to get anything done. Kaizen is about changing the way things are. If you assume that things are all right the way they are, you can't do kaizen. So change something! — Taiichi Ohno

Ask 'why' five times about every matter. — Taiichi Ohno

Standards should not be forced down from above but rather set by the production workers themselves. — Taiichi Ohno

The slower but consistent tortoise causes less waste and is more desirable than the speedy hare that races ahead and then stops occasionally to doze. The Toyota Production System can be realized only when all the workers become tortoises. — Taiichi Ohno

All we are doing is looking at the time line, from the moment the customer gives us an order to the point when we collect the cash. And we are reducing the time line by reducing the non-value adding wastes. — Taiichi Ohno

Also, bad quality causes big disruptions in my river system. — Taiichi Ohno

The more inventory a company has, the less likely they will have what they need. — Taiichi Ohno

The key to the Toyota Way and what makes Toyota stand out is not any of the individual elements ... But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner, not in spurts. — Taiichi Ohno

Make your workplace into showcase that can be understood by everyone at a glance. In terms of quality, it means to make the defects immediately apparent. In terms of quantity, it means that progress or delay, measured against the plan, and is made immediately apparent. When this is done, problems can be discovered immediately, and everyone can initiate improvement plans. — Taiichi Ohno

Data is of course important in manufacturing, but I place the greatest emphasis on facts. — Taiichi Ohno

Costs do not exist to be calculated. Costs exist to be reduced. — Taiichi Ohno

It takes great effort to follow the rules of a pull system ... thus a half-hearted introduction of a pull system brings a hundred harms and not a single gain. — Taiichi Ohno

No goal, regardless of how small can be achieved without adequate training. — Taiichi Ohno

The only place that work and motion are the same thing is the zoo where people pay to see the animals move around — Taiichi Ohno

If you are going to do TPS you must do it all the way. You also need to change the way you think. You need to change how you look at things. — Taiichi Ohno

Having no problems is the biggest problem of all. — Taiichi Ohno

Without standards, there can be no improvement. — Taiichi Ohno

No one has more trouble than the person who claims to have no trouble — Taiichi Ohno

We are doomed to failure without a daily destruction of our various preconceptions. — Taiichi Ohno

Kaizen should be done when times are good or when the company is profitable, since your efforts to streamline and make improvements when the company is poor are limited to reduction in staff. Even if you try to go lean and cut out the fat to improve business performance, when your business is in a very difficult position financially there is no fat to be cut. If you are cutting out muscle, which you need, then you cannot say that your efforts to become lean are succeeding.The most important thing about doing kaizen is to do kaizen when times are good, the economy is strong, and the company is profitable — Taiichi Ohno

I'm proud to be Japanese and I wanted my country to succeed. I believed my system was a way that could help us become a modern industrial nation. That is why I had no problem with sharing it with other Japanese companies, even my biggest competitors. — Taiichi Ohno

When you are out observing on the gemba, do something to help them. If you do, people will come to expect that you can help them and will look forward to seeing you again on the gemba. — Taiichi Ohno

Progress cannot be generated when we are satisfied with existing situations. — Taiichi Ohno