The Foundation of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturing Industry: Attempts to Adopt Ford’s Production System
Studies in economic history, 2020
In 1907, the year before Ford began to sell its Model T in the USA, Japan domestically produced i... more In 1907, the year before Ford began to sell its Model T in the USA, Japan domestically produced its first gasoline-powered passenger car, called Takuri-gō, which was assembled with imported parts.
Fordism Transformed: The Development of Production Methods in the Automobile Industry
This series from Springer provides a platform for works in economic history that truly integrate ... more This series from Springer provides a platform for works in economic history that truly integrate economics and history. Books on a wide range of related topics are welcomed and encouraged, including those in macro-economic history, financial history, labor history, industrial history, agricultural history, the history of institutions and organizations, spatial economic history, law and economic history, political economic history, historical demography, and environmental history. Economic history studies have greatly developed over the past several decades through application of economics and econometrics. Particularly in recent years, a variety of new economic theories and sophisticated econometric techniquesincluding game theory, spatial economics, and generalized method of moment (GMM)-have been introduced for the great benefit of economic historians and the research community. At the same time, a good economic history study should contribute more than just an application of economics and econometrics to past data. It raises novel research questions, proposes a new view of history, and/or provides rich documentation. This series is intended to integrate data analysis, close examination of archival works, and application of theoretical frameworks to offer new insights and even provide opportunities to rethink theories. The purview of this new Springer series is truly global, encompassing all nations and areas of the world as well as all eras from ancient times to the present. The editorial board, who are internationally renowned leaders among economic historians, carefully evaluate and judge each manuscript, referring to reports from expert reviewers. The series publishes contributions by university professors and others well established in the academic community, as well as work deemed to be of equivalent merit.
The Foundation of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturing Industry: Attempts to Adopt Ford’s Production System
In 1907, the year before Ford began to sell its Model T in the USA, Japan domestically produced i... more In 1907, the year before Ford began to sell its Model T in the USA, Japan domestically produced its first gasoline-powered passenger car, called Takuri-gō, which was assembled with imported parts.
The Evolution of the Toyota Production System, 2020
Toyota managed to establish the small-volume production system for automobiles during the war yea... more Toyota managed to establish the small-volume production system for automobiles during the war years. However, the company did not achieve smooth production workflow. The 20th anniversary publication documenting Toyota's history explains how the organization resolved this situation: Despite adopting the methods to achieve a smooth production flow at our company, semifinished and finished products accumulated at the start and end of the production line in each plant. Several work processes were scattered across the production line. Although such a scenario gives an impression of an active workplace, it is actually indicative of inefficient management. The factory site used for wasteful or useless materials, and an unnecessary increase in the working capital leads to a high-cost situation. The supermarket system has been adopted to overcome this situation (Toyota Jidōsha Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha 1958, p. 490). Indeed, much literature has focused on addressing the problem of production flow. While these studies have emphasized the role of the "supermarket system" in shaping Toyota's production system, they have ignored the work in other Japanese industries to increase productivity in the mid-1950s. This chapter examines the introduction of the "supermarket system" in Toyota while emphasizing the impact of reforms in other sectors of Japanese industry in the 1950s. 6.1 Operating Trailers as Per Diagram: The Propagation of Just-in-Time 6.1.1 Driving Coal Wagons as Per Diagram at a Coal Mine The importance of materials handling was well recognized in Japan after the war, partly because of its fundamental impact on manufacturing, but also because of the productivity missions to the USA. In Japan, representatives of several industries
The Evolution of the Toyota Production System, 2020
Findings of Two Toyota Executives 5.1 Why Did Two Toyota Executives Go to the USA? Eiji Toyoda, D... more Findings of Two Toyota Executives 5.1 Why Did Two Toyota Executives Go to the USA? Eiji Toyoda, Director of Toyota, embarked on an inspection of the automobile industry in the USA on July 11, 1950, about a month after Toyota settled the labor disputes on June 10, 1950. Regarding the reasons behind the trip, Eiji Toyoda stated: The purpose of my visit to the US was to gauge the future prospects of the auto industry and to explore the possibility of arranging for technical cooperation of some sort from the US manufacturers. Having decided that it would be in our best interest to establish ties with American automakers, we sent a proposal to Ford, with whom we had previously entered into negotiations (Toyoda 1987, p. 106). He returned home on October 20, 1950 (Toyota Jidōsha Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha 1967, p. 834). Toyota's 30th anniversary history stated that Eiji Toyoda "stayed at Ford's River Rouge Plant in Detroit for a long time and took a close look at its production and manufacturing technology" (Toyota Jidōsha Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha 1967, p. 327). Furthermore, the anniversary history quoted Eiji Toyoda's text from the October 1950 issue of magazine Ryusen-kei (Streamline Shape) as follows: This [River Rouge Plant] is the largest factory of Ford. I am surprised by the huge amount of equipment, its organization and everything else. First of all, the building area is 15 million square feet, nearly ten times as large as Toyota's Koromo Plant. Within the area, there are self-sufficient integrated facilities for producing automobiles such as blast furnaces, glass plants, docks, machining plants, assembly plants, and cupolas. There are 70,000 employees at Ford. As they recently started working in two or three shifts due to the Korean War, Ford quickened its production pace to 7,000 units per day. About 10% of the total production, 700 units, are assembled as finished vehicles in River Rouge Plant. The remaining 90% are sent to assembly plants located in various parts of the US as Ford's assembly parts. So how do they implement the mass-production of automobiles? As mentioned earlier, the Rouge Plant is the largest among the Ford's plants, but the largeness of plants does not ensure perfection in automobile production. From our point of view, it still seems to have some room for improvement as an organization of production. But, the most interesting thing is material
The Evolution of the Toyota Production System, 2020
In 1963, Toyota and Toyota Sales jointly revised its parts numbering method. This step was necess... more In 1963, Toyota and Toyota Sales jointly revised its parts numbering method. This step was necessary to further advance mechanization through the use of punch cards and IBM machines. With the increased number of automobiles in the market, the opportunity for repairs and replacing parts also increased (Toyota Jidōsha Hanbai Kabushiki Gaisha 1962, pp. 208-209). Toyota Sales needed to supply parts for repairs. To order parts from Toyota, it was necessary to specify the parts accurately so that Toyota and Toyota Sales could identify the parts easily. As the types of automobiles and parts were increasing, easy identification of parts was also important for the production process itself. However, Toyota basically used the same parts numbering method, which was forced upon Japanese automakers in 1944 by the Japanese Army (Koide 1949, p. 67). After the war, Toyota changed its parts numbering method several times, and further changed it significantly in 1963 for the supply of parts handled by Toyota Sales, as well as the diagram numbers on design drawings (Usami 1963, p. 88). As a result, Toyota and Toyota Sales, and Toyota's affiliates and suppliers that were engaged in the automobile business began to use the same parts numbering system. The reason for revising the parts numbering method in 1963 was explained by a manager at the time: The revision of the part number leads to rationalization of allocating the part number in the technical department and facilitates the mechanization of the work accompanied with the part number. In addition, it saves the necessary man-hours of already mechanized work and ensures its accuracy [emphasis supplied] (Usami 1963, p. 93). In the above quotation, "the mechanization of the work accompanied with the part number" and "the mechanized work" mean the use of IBM machines. For
Acceptance of the Ford Production System by Japanese Manufacturing Industries
In 1925, Ford Motor Company established its branch plant in Yokohama, Japan. As Ford accepted vis... more In 1925, Ford Motor Company established its branch plant in Yokohama, Japan. As Ford accepted visitors, many visited its plant and gazed at the moving assembly line or conveyor system. By then, the concept of the “Ford production system” had spread among Japanese engineers. However, the Ford system’s conveyors were rarely a focus of any explanation of the concept.
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