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Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

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Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#161

> establishing a culture of quality control that helped Toyota evolve into a world-leading automaker. A lot of the JIT stuff that is so common, these days, was revolutionary, when he introduced it. I'm told that many agile techniques also had their genesis in his work.

I am curious how many people are rethinking how aggressively to set up a JIT system in the wake of COVID and the supply chain issues, given it clearly cost many companies an astronomical amount of money in the end. Obviously you shouldn't build your entire company around rare, worst case scenarios, but there should probably be some consideration budgeted in for them IMO and it seems few companies were ready for rainy…

JIT made sense for Toyota and they took steps to ensure their suppliers were beholden to them (that is they shipped whenever Toyota needed it).

JIT doesn't make sense for global supply chains when the suppliers i.e. China or Russia government can impose embargoes at will with little warning.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#162
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However the whole EU market can't return to ICEs because of fleet emission limits, which are now 95g CO2/km and from 2025 will be 15% lower, with other changes too. So my guess is, people who can afford it (including charging infra) will have EVs which will get better and more expensive and the rest will not buy new cars. Maybe the market will shift to smaller forms of mobility, we'll see.

The EU also, just within the last few days, banned new combustion vehicle sales starting 2035. Burn the ships, there will be no going back.

The EU had also banned and stopped operating coal generators, but now they are back in operation.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EU also, just within the last few days, banned new combustion vehicle sales starting 2035. Burn the ships, there will be no going back.

The EU had also banned and stopped operating coal generators, but now they are back in operation.

https://www.iea.org/news/defying-expectations-co2-emissions-...

> The European Union’s CO2 emissions are on course to decline this year despite an increase in coal emissions. The rise in European coal use is expected to be temporary, with a strong pipeline of new renewable projects forecast to add around 50 gigawatts of capacity in 2023. These additions would generate more electricity than the expected increase in coal-fired power generation in the EU in 2022.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/22/eus-emis...

> EU’s emissions continue to fall despite return to coal

My note: those coal plants are only increasing emissions a few percentage points temporarily. Trajectory deviation is ever so sleight.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#164

> establishing a culture of quality control that helped Toyota evolve into a world-leading automaker. A lot of the JIT stuff that is so common, these days, was revolutionary, when he introduced it. I'm told that many agile techniques also had their genesis in his work.

> I'm told that many agile techniques also had their genesis in his work The “kanban” interfaces definitely originate from Toyota. Scrum was influenced by Toyota’s management techniques, among others. I believe other familiar concepts, e.g. “kaizen” or continuous improvement, also originate from Toyota.

Toyota learned it from western consultants, but made it work like a charm. I think they are the real champions of the lean philosophy, kanban, kaizen, 5s, etc.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#165

I had a Toyota. It was a great car, and a real testament to the engineering prowess Toyoda established. I see very clear, very interesting Innovator's Dilemma vibes, though, in how widely they've missed the boat on EVs. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Toyota lose its dominance in the coming decade. It's sad, since the Prius was such a gamechanger. Maybe the passing of the torch here will let them start to catch up.

Toyota does not - and as far as I can tell, has never - led the world in cutting-edge technology. They are a very conservative company. This does not mean they have missed the boat. Even their hybrids were not first-to-market. Toyota did not invent the hybrid ICE/electric car; they simply implemented it better than their competitors. Around 10 years ago, direct injection was the new thing for ICE vehicles. It improve…

The 1AZ-FSE was their first GDI engine, it was fitted to the T220 Avensis back in the early noughts.

Incidentally, the implementation you describe is the 'D-4S' system, Toyota D-4 engines are purely direct injection with the same carbon buildup issues as all the others...which isn't the end of the world as the inlet valves and manifold can be walnut blasted to remove the deposits but it's not the easiest job to do.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#166
post #79

> establishing a culture of quality control that helped Toyota evolve into a world-leading automaker. A lot of the JIT stuff that is so common, these days, was revolutionary, when he introduced it. I'm told that many agile techniques also had their genesis in his work.

I wonder if Deming ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming#Japan ) contributed to the Toyota Way? A lot of the Toyota Way seems inspired by his teachings.

I work at Toyota, and they credit him on day one of training on the Toyota philosophy. Toyota's success is just a function of them listening to western consultants after the war when western companies would not.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hah, I am waiting for Toyota to make a well reviewed EV to buy one. Otherwise, I am fine with their ICE/hybrid options.

Toyota is probably the only brand loyalty I have and yah, I’ll happily keep buying either gas or hybrids from them. I’m in no rush for electric, but when Toyota makes an EV Corolla that’ll be a sign to me EVs are actually ready for normal people. They’ve rightfully gained my trust and their seal of approval on car tech does matter to me.

What do you think of GM's Bolt E(U)V?

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#168
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think your experience reflects more your choise of car than EVs as technology. I have been driving Tesla happily for 3.5 years. I regularly make long distance trips to remote areas of Finland. No problems whatsoever. I pay 25 snt/kWh for on-the-road charging with Elli membership, about 12 snt at home.

The moment when you will get off the supercharger network with your tesla you are in the same crap as the rest of the BEV owners. >on-the-road charging with Elli membership Why should I buy some stupid membership so I can pay monthly fee + charging fee? I am not buying memberships for taking gas either.

Net cost of energy, and a quick payback on your monthly fee based on the savings vs. not paying the monthly fee.

It's math.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#169
post #91
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't charge at home at least 90% of the time, the EV loses most of the benefits. This will slowly change as more EVs are sold and the charging infrastructure improves.

> This will slowly change as more EVs are sold and the charging infrastructure improves. Yeah.. no. Especially not in old big towns around Europe where hundreds of thousands (even millions) of people live without underground garage and there's literally no place to install street side chargers on every corner.

How much space do you think an EV charger takes? They are the size of parking meters. They are built into lamp posts.

Re: Shoichiro Toyoda, who turned Toyota into global automaker, has died

#170
post #30

The Toyota Production System was established during Shoichiro Toyoda's leadership. It is the company's "operating system" if you will, and has made an enormous impact, both in the auto industry and in other fields such as IT. "Lean" manufacturing, a term from Womack & Jones, is based on their research into this. If you want to dive in, here is my reading list for essential books on how Toyota came to build high quali…

Tetsuo Sakiya - Honda Motor the men, the management, the machines

Tangential: there are many books on the Toyota system, so that they have stolen the show. I have always suspected that other Japanese factories might have also had interesting production systems but only found the above book about Honda. Honda apparently invested more in R&D and always took greater risks than Toyota. I believe some ideas from there can also be applied to IT.

Anyone know of others?

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