[notes] What is driving Toyota

My notes on the 'What is Driving Toyota' article by Mel Duval on Baseline:

> “What strikes me about Toyota is, if you were to ask them if they have a technology strategy, they would probably say no, we have a business strategy,” says Philip Evans, a senior vice president at the Boston Consulting Group

> “It’s hard work,” Liker says. “You have to be willing to commit to practicing the concepts behind Toyota Production System (TPS) every day.”

Sakichi Toyoda's, founder of the Toyota Group, invented a loom (a device used to weave cloth) that would stop in case a thread snapped. This reduced defects and raised yields since a loom would not continue producing imperfect fabric and use up thread needlessly when broken. This process, of stopping production to prevent defects, became known as Jidoka.

Toyota constantly looks to improve its business processes by finding ways to take Muda (waste) out of the syst…