Reportedly the result of a faulty furnace exploding when it was lit at the start of a night shift, the factory explosion will result in a pre-tax profit fall of ¥8 billion for Aichi Steel - Toyota's specialist steel provider. Given the sophisticated nature of Aichi's manufacturing services, few providers easily replicate their levels of production, so Toyota will most likely continue with the partnership. However the company will likely seek reassurances that such disruption is prevented in the future, to maintain output levels, which have increased by 14,000 per year, off the back of large-scale consumer demand for its 2016 Prius model. Moving forward, the installation of air purge and ignition fail-safes on production furnaces and increased operator training are measures that Toyota hopes will ward against similar supply problems. 

Discussion: What features of the lean model caused Toyota to have to halt production so quickly after the problem at its supplier? What could Toyota have done to avoid or mitigate the impact of the accident?

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The lean manufacturing model famously pioneered by Toyota emphasizes efficiency continuous improvement and minimizing waste However in the described s... View the full answer