ABSTRACT
Toward the end of 1955, Japan entered a period of high growth rare for the time in world economics. Kanban, the operating tool of the Toyota production system, was adopted company-wide in 1962, when Japan was well into its growth. It is significant that the kanban system with its roots at Toyota coincided with this period of time. Into the automobile industry came a flood of large, high performance machines, such as the transfer machine or robot. In a period of high growth, whatever was made was sold, so these mass production machines demonstrated their effectiveness. The oil crisis in the fall of 1973 brought a new twist to Japan’s economy. At Toyota, where production increases had been achieved yearly since the 1930s, we were forced to reduce production for 1974. The Toyota production system first established the basis of rationalization with its production method. Its challenge was the total elimination of waste by using the just-in-time system and Kanban.
