BUSINESS & IT
The Prius Was Made With This Unique Method
Toyota invented a new approach
Toyota’s obstacles with the worldwide first hybrid car in large-scale production
Imagine you have to develop a completely new product. The different departments are in different buildings at different locations.
On top of that, you have little time. You have to meet your company’s high quality standards.
That’s exactly what happened to Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of Toyota since 2013 and Toyota’s chief engineer for the Prius project. [1]
The Prius was the manufacturer’s first hybrid car. [2] It was supposed to have twice the fuel efficiency of internal combustion as the engine vehicles. It was an entirely new product category. The project also had a far too tight schedule.
What Toyota did to overcome those obstacles
Takeshi Uchiyamada knew he had to bring all the important functions together under one roof.
He needed to keep everything together and achieve the project goals.
Even better, he needed a large room where all the important people sat. They should exchange ideas and visualize their results.
Large room: the Japanese word for this is “obeya.”
The Obeya was the most important tool for Toyota to complete the Prius on time.
From then on, the Obeya was one of the standards of product development and became one of the pillars of success at Toyota. 🚗
Sounds like a simple idea. But with a great effect!
Workers and managers from different disciplines visually shared their views. On the product and in its performance. All in ONE room. They put everything into a meaningful context.
Similarities to lean management, continuous improvement, and agility are not coincidental: The reference model for an Obeya intentionally borrows from them.
The Obeya is not just a room. It is an integrated model of visual tools. They are visible to everyone on the walls of the room.
It is also a model of behavioral principles, i.e. the rules of the game for all team members.
How can this be applied to management?
Obeyas make collaboration easier. 💡 Born at Toyota’s automotive development, the Obeya also functions as a strategy and leadership hub.
The Obeya is a team spirit improvement tool at an administrative level.
Often used in product development, an Obeya room can also be a place for:
- software development
- a command center
- managing a new business strategy
- workflow and project management. [3]
Working with Obeya helps to have meetings that lead to meaningful alignment. Read here how this is possible.
Join with my link to get full access to all stories on Medium!About Me — Iris B. Stehn ▪ Twitter ▪ Facebooksources: [1] https://global.toyota/en/company/profile/executives/board-of-director/takeshi_uchiyamada.html. Retrieved 10.05.2022, [2] Tim Wiegel: “Führen mit Obeya”, Vahlen, ISBN 978–3–8006–6464–1, [3] “The Purpose of an Obeya Room”. SixSigmaDaily. Retrieved 19.02.2021
