Taoiseach goes to Toyota plant to learn about 'Lean'

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD went to Toyota’s Motomachi plant in Japan yesterday to meet senior executives from Toyota Motor Corporation as part of the trade mission he is leading this week.

The objective of the meeting was to learn from Toyota’s ‘Lean’ production processes, and glean insights as to how this could be applied to industry in Ireland to support economic recovery.

A production process centred on preserving value with less work, ‘Lean’ as a management philosophy is mostly derived from the Toyota Production System (TPS).

Originally called ‘just-in-time production’, TPS is an integrated socio-technical system developed by Toyota that comprises its management philosophy and practices.

It organises manufacturing and logistics for the automobile manufacturer, including interaction with suppliers and customers.

The Taoiseach travelled with a delegation of Irish business leaders to the Toyota plant, including Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland, Sean O’Driscoll, CEO of Glen Dimplex and the Irish Ambassador to Japan John Neary,