Practice TPS inside Toyota. Transfer TPS outside Toyota.
The Toyota Production System is often associated with tools such as Kaizen, 5S, Standardized Work, visual management, problem solving and flow.
But TPS is more than a collection of Lean tools. It is a management and operating system built around developing people, creating stability, exposing problems, solving problems at the source and continuously improving the work.
That distinction matters when selecting a consulting partner.
Fourtre consultants have experience associated with two important Toyota organizations: the Operations Management Development Division (OMDD) and the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC).
OMDD is part of Toyota's internal TPS capability. Its work supports Toyota operations and helps develop people who can deeply practice Toyota Production System principles and transfer that knowledge to others.
In simple terms: OMDD represents the practice and development of TPS inside Toyota.
This experience provides an understanding of how TPS principles are applied in a real operating environment—not simply how individual Lean tools are taught.
TSSC was established to share Toyota Production System knowledge with organizations outside Toyota. TSSC has worked with organizations across different industries and operating environments, helping them apply TPS principles to their own challenges.
In simple terms: TSSC represents the transfer of TPS beyond Toyota.
That experience is particularly relevant to consulting because applying TPS to another organization requires understanding the principles well enough to adapt them to a different product, process, workforce, culture and business environment.
We use the principles behind TPS to help each organization solve its own operational problems.
That means starting with the work. Understanding the current condition. Seeing the problems where they actually occur. Developing people. Creating stability. Establishing Standardized Work. Solving problems at the root. And building the capability for continuous improvement to continue after the consultant leaves.
When a Fourtre consultant walks into a plant, we want our clients to know that our approach is grounded in more than Lean terminology or classroom certification.
Our experience comes from practitioners who have worked with Toyota Production System concepts in environments connected to both the practice of TPS within Toyota and the transfer of TPS to organizations outside Toyota.
That experience shapes how we approach every engagement.
We help build a better operating system.
Start with a two-day gemba assessment. We'll show you where the hidden capacity is—and what recovering it is worth.