Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production
Pull systems (demand-triggered) outperform push systems (forecast-driven)
This book by Taiichi Ohno, the architect of Toyota's revolutionary production system, explains how Just-in-Time manufacturing and kanban achieve distributed coordination without central planning. Ohno developed these systems from the 1950s-1970s, inverting traditional 'push' manufacturing (centralized schedules) to 'pull' systems (demand-triggered production).
The Toyota Production System is a direct organizational application of flocking principles: each workstation follows simple local rules (produce when signaled, match downstream demand), and system-wide coordination emerges without central control. Demand signals propagate upstream through kanban like turning waves through a flock.
Ohno's work demonstrates that biological coordination principles can transform industrial operations, creating systems that are simultaneously more efficient (less waste, inventory) and more adaptive (responds to demand changes within hours). TPS became the foundation of lean manufacturing worldwide.
Key Findings from Ohno (1988)
- Pull systems (demand-triggered) outperform push systems (forecast-driven)
- Kanban signals enable distributed coordination without central planning
- Each workstation follows simple local rules based on neighbor signals
- Demand changes propagate upstream like waves through the supply chain
- Minimal inventory maintains system near criticality (responsive but stable)