Visit to Toyota Kirloskar Plant by SDMites

Students of "Lean and Green Management" course had an opportunity to witness Lean and Green Management in action at Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts Pvt. Ltd. (TKAP), Bidadi on the outskirts of Bangalore on November 19, 2016. 
 
TKAP was established in 2002 and manufactures Axles & Shafts, Transmissions and Engines for Toyota vehicles.  These power train subsystems are supplied to Toyota companies in India and globally.
 
The plant visit kicked off with a welcome note and a brief introduction to Toyota History and Philosophy by Manufacturing Head and VP, Mr. Sadashiv Baligar. He stressed that Toyota's fundamental philosophy rests on two key principles viz: Respect for the people and Continuous improvement. This was followed by a session on overview of Toyota Production System (TPS) and implementation at TKAP by a Certified TPS trainer Mr. Dixit. He explained how TPS focuses on Safety, Quality, Productivity, Cost, Employee morale and Customer satisfaction which are central to the TPS. Further a tour of shop floor was conducted to observe manufacturing and assembly of Power train (Engine, transmission and drive shafts). 
 
Shop floor tour gave an insight and good understanding of shop floor management practices of Toyota including 5S implementation, Zen in Sanka (total employee involvement), Operation of Kanban system for production and WIP control, Pokayoke (foolproof systems), visual control systems like Andon, Mizsumashi, part supply and replenishment through Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs).
 
The visit concluded with a lunch at the cafeteria hosted by TKAP and final Q&A session with TKAP shop floor management team who clarified and addressed various queries and doubts from students on the TPS implementation at TKAP.
 
Overall, it was a great learning experience for students to see various lean tools in action and could get a holistic view of lean management system by the pioneers of Lean Management.