Lean in Europe: TOYOTA Valenciennes

TOYOTA Motor Manufacturing France, in Valenciennes, has agreed to host the FINAL Lean in Europe visit. Toyota is the source and inspiration for many of the tools and approaches covered during the previous 32 visits. We will have the opportunity to visit, engage with and discuss with Toyota members to hear and see first hand what and how the Toyota Approach is and works.

Toyota Production System and the Toyota Way are the vision and philosophy driving everything Toyota does. TPS seeks to achieve the complete elimination of all waste in pursuit of the most efficient methods. The Toyota Way seeks to define how the full membership of Toyota will work together to achieve best products for their customers, now and into the future. TMMF has 5,000 people working in 3 shifts to produce a total of 1,250 Yaris and Yaris Cross cars a day, using Jidoka to ensure quality (automation with a human face, combining automated processes and human intelligence and problem-solving) and the Just-in-Time method to achieve their targets. Process standardisation and Kaizen (continuous improvement) are key – over the past 20 years, the TMMF team have identified 52,900 improvement ideas, building the capability of their people and processes. To see what TMMF does see this 6-minute film about the production of the Yaris Cross.

20 places are available on this visit. Apply via this webform. Applications must be submitted no later than 6 February. Companies that apply for more than one place should indicate who their priority candidate is. See the main Lean in Europe webpage for detailed eligibility and applicant profile information.

The visit will be hosted by Jim Crosbie, TMMF’s President and led by Richard Keegan, Adjunct Professor of Lean Operational Excellence at Trinity Business School, the EU-Japan Centre’s Lean Advisor.

Visit agenda

Split over two days, the TOYOTA visit will include:

Evening of Tuesday, 5 March (at a local hotel):

• Lean discussion led by Richard Keegan, Adjunct Professor of Lean Operational Excellence at Trinity Business School, the EU-Japan Centre’s Lean Advisor

Morning and early afternoon of Wednesday, 6 March (at TOYOTA):

• An introduction to TMMF
• Go to the Gemba with a plant tour
• Visit and learn about the Obeya room (project rooms for team-based working with displays for sharing and reviewing goals, policies, timelines, progress and problems, etc., designed to facilitate knowledge-sharing, collaborations and decision-making and problem-solving)
• Take part in a Q&A session / debriefing with senior representatives of TMMF looking at the deployment of digitalisation and the next challenges