Wlei - Lean Enterprise Institute's Podcast

Simon Rowley and Julian Ball join Josh Howell, LEI President, and Mark Reich, LEI Chief Engineer Strategy, and continue this month’s discussion about the role of continuous improvement (CI) groups in lean management. Simon is Senior Manager at the Toyota Lean Management Centre (TLMC) in the UK, and Julian is Section Manager. TLMC was started by Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK in 2009 to support companies in the UK interested in implementing the Toyota Production System (TPS).  The two TLMC executives describe the startup of the center and how it initially enabled Toyota UK to employ and improve staff during a financial downturn. “They saw this as an opportunity for development of their own people, going out to clients and helping them and coaching them in TPS and the Toyota Way, develop them to then go rotate back into the business and make our business stronger,” says Julian. The best way to get better at TPS, adds Simon, is to practice, and TLMC offers team members opportunities to practice with diverse indus