Business improvement initiatives through TOC

Irie Kohken Co., Ltd. is involved in various operational improvements such as QC circles and ISO certification. One of these is the TOC management method, which was introduced at the Nakayama Plant of the Shikoku Operations in 2006. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) was developed by Dr Elie Goldratt in the USA in the late 1970s and introduced to US manufacturing in the late 1980s, where it proved effective. The theory was not allowed to be translated in the US for 17 years due to fears of its development in Japan, but it was first introduced in Japan in 2000 in a book called The Goal, which became a hot topic. The Goal' became a craze for a while and many companies tried to introduce it, but many gave up because of the difficulty of the theory and the fact that it did not fit in with Japanese culture. With the help of a consultancy firm, Irie Kohken Co Ltd became the first SME to introduce the Japanese TOC theory to some of the lines at its Nakayama plant, and was able to increase production capacity by a factor of three without increasing equipment or staff. This enabled a dramatic improvement in delivery time, price and quality. This achievement was recognised by the AGI Association of the USA, and in November 2009 the company was one of the few successful introductions outside the USA to be showcased at Velocity World 2009, organised by the Association, where it received great acclaim. From 2010, we will use this achievement to expand the [TOC management method] to other lines and strive to provide even better products. We are looking forward to working with you.