Another fundamentally important pre-condition for a highly efficient and effective production is the continuous improvement of the production line and the facilities. Only if the machinery and the equipment are at the forefront of technology and are working reliably without any defects and failures, it can be ensured that the machine uptime is predictable and the process capability is sustained, avoiding that the process must keep extra stocks to buffer against any uncertainties and that the flow through the process will be interrupted.
At Toyota, this in ensured through the application of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). TPM is a proactive approach that essentially aims to prevent any kind of slack before occurrence and has been the first methodology Toyota used to improve its global position in the 1950s. According to the motto "zero error, zero work-related accident, and zero loss", in TPM the machine operators perform much, and sometimes all, of the routine maintenance tasks themselves. This auto-maintenance ensures appropriate and effective efforts are expended since the machine is wholly the domain of one person or team (Nakajima, 1995).
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