Just in time for your bottom line.

At Canon Virginia, we’re always looking for a better way of doing things. Sometimes the answer comes from within. Sometimes, it comes from looking at a company with the same drive for quality, albeit on a slightly larger scale.

Canon Virginia actively embraces and follows the Toyota Production System (TPS). A proven lean manufacturing system, adapting TPS to our business has enabled us to achieve greater efficiencies without sacrificing quality. In many cases, because of the teamwork the system inspires, we’ve actually been able to improve quality.

The Toyota Production System is based on two key concepts:
• reduction of cost through the elimination of waste
• respect for employees by encouraging each worker to make full use of their capabilities

Tools used to accomplish these key concepts:
• jidoka: “automation with a human touch.” If and when a problem arises, jidoka allows an individual to stop the equipment immediately
• just-in-time: in each process of the manufacturing cycle, you produce only what is needed by the next process
• standardized work
• visual management
• equipment stability

Bottom line? By adapting the Toyota Production System to our products, we’ve been able to improve every aspect of manufacturing—from quality and efficiency to timelines and cost structures. It’s a change that has not only made us a better place to work but also a better place to work with.