East  Asia  Institute,  One  UTSA  Circle,  MB  1.209,  UTSA,  San  Antonio,  Texas  78249  Contact:  eai@utsa.edu;  210.458.8550    

UTSA’s  East  Asia  Institute  Presents    The  Essence  of  Toyota  Production  System  

 UTSA  will  welcome  Mr.  Kyogo  (Kurt)  Onoue,  

Corporate  Advisor  of  Toyota  Motor  Manufacturing  Texas  (TMMTX)  to  give  a  lecture  entitled  “The  Essence  of  Toyota  Production  System”  on  Thursday,  October  30,  2014  from  noon  to  1pm.         Free  and  open  to  the  public,  this  lecture  will  take  place  in  Business  Building  1.01.15.  Mr.  Onoue’s  lecture  is  sponsored  by  UTSA’s  East  Asia  Institute,  Center  for  Professional  Excellence,  Center  for  Student  Professional  Development,  and  the  Office  of  International  Business  Programs.      

Mr.  Onoue  received  his  Bachelor’s  degree  in  Mechanical  Engineering  from  Waseda  University  in  Tokyo,  Japan.  In  addition,  he  currently  serves  as  the  president  for  San  Antonio  Japanese  Company  Association.    

Prior  to  his  role  in  TMMTX,  Mr.  Onoue  served  as  vice  president  of  manufacturing  at  New  United  Motor  Manufacturing  Inc.  (NUMMI),  a  joint  venture  between  General  Motors  and  Toyota  located  in  Fremont,  California.         Mr.  Onoue  joined  Toyota  in  1985  as  an  engineer  in  Toyota  City,  Japan.  While  at  Toyota,  he  spent  most  of  his  career  at  Operation  Management  Consulting  Division  (OMCD),  which  is  the  Toyota  Production  System  (TPS)  Office.  Mr.  Onoue  is  considered  a  TPS  Subject  Matter  Expert  in  North  America,  due  to  his  extensive  knowledge  in  Toyota  Production  System.      

At  this  lecture,  Mr.  Onoue  will  introduce  how  Toyota  has  implemented  TPS  as  the  core  concept  for  their  car  manufacturing  industry  and  why  “Just-­‐in-­‐time”,  

Top:  Mr.  Kyogo  (Kurt)  Onoue  Bottom:  Tundra  truck  

“Jidoka  (Autonomation  with  a  human  touch)”,  and  standardization  are  pillars  of  work  ethic  and  longevity.    Lean  manufacturing  (LEAN)  is  another  adapted  philosophy  in  which  Toyota  optimizes  time,  human  resources,  productivity  and  assets  in  pursuit  of  the  ultimate  efficiency.      

In  addition,  Mr.  Onoue  will  discuss  “kaizen”  applied  to  every  sphere  of  the  company's  activities.  Furthermore,  Toyota  members  seek  to  continually  improve  their  standard  processes  and  procedures  in  order  to  ensure  maximum  quality,  improve  efficiency,  and  eliminate  waste.      

According  to  Harvard  Business  Review,  GM,  Ford,  and  Chrysler  have  independently  created  major  initiatives  to  develop  Toyota-­‐like  production  systems.  Companies  that  have  tried  to  adopt  the  system  can  be  found  in  fields  as  diverse  as  aerospace,  consumer  products,  metals  processing,  and  industrial  products.    

As  of  2014,  Toyota  is  the  world’s  largest  car  manufacturer,  with  most  reliable  and  the  highest  selling  hybrid  vehicles  in  the  U.S.    In  2013,  Toyota  Prius  liftback  has  been  available  in  over  80  countries,  and  was  the  world’s  best  selling  hybrid  vehicle.  According  to  U.S.  News  and  World  Report,  the  2014  Toyota  Camry  is  #1  in  top-­‐selling  hybrid  vehicles  and  #2  in  affordable  mid-­‐size  automobiles.      

Seating  is  limited,  so  arriving  at  the  venue  early  is  highly  encouraged.  For  more  information  on  this  event,  please  contact  the  East  Asia  Institute  at  210-­‐458-­‐8550,  email:  eai@utsa.edu,  or  see  the  EAI’s  homepage  at  http://www.utsa.edu/eai.  ..............................................................................................................................................    The  UTSA  East  Asia  Institute’s  mission  is  to  promote  appreciation  and  understanding  of  East  Asian  societies  and  cultures  both  on  campus  and  in  the  community  through  research,  outreach,  networking,  education,  student/faculty  exchange,  and  business  development  and  cooperation.  The  East  Asia  Institute  organizes  seminars,  workshops,  lectures,  conferences,  film  festivals,  visual  art  exhibitions  as  well  as  bringing  in  performing  art  groups  from  China,  Japan,  Korea,  and  other  Asian  nations.  It  also  encourages  faculty  research  collaborations  both  within  UTSA  and  with  participating  East  Asian  university  researchers.