How Toyota Helped Improve A Thai Hospital’s Workflow
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is known inside and outside the car industry as one of the most effective methods of management. Imagine what it would be like to have it employed was employed BY Toyota to do social good for the community.
Well, the Thai people have already experienced first hand what that’s like. as the Toyota Social Support Center (TSSC) was opened there back in mid-2020. TSSC is focused on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in Thailand while leveraging the unique strengths of the TPS. After 6 months of activities, they’re ready to start spreading the goodness to other parts of Asia.
No specific countries were mentioned, so don’t hold your breath just yet. But what’s been observed from their work in Thailand is promising so far.
The example cited was their work with the Bangbo Hospital in Samut Prakarn. They worked with the hospital to decrease waiting time for patients receiving medicine by as much as 60% (from 75 minutes to just 30 minutes). They’re still working with hospital to improve other work processes, but that’s already very impressive!
We can’t wait for something like the TSSC to be set up in Malaysia. Shorter wait times and better workflow is something our front liners could benefit from. It also shows the benefits of a mutually beneficial foreign partnership go beyond just direct investment.
Here’s the press release with more.
PRESS RELEASE
Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing (TDEM*), Toyota’s regional office in Asia for engineering, manufacturing and other functions, launched the Toyota Social Support Center (TSSC), with the aim of creating a positive impact to communities and society through Toyota-unique CSR activities using the strengths of the renowned Toyota Production System (TPS).
TPS is Toyota’s fundamental management approach which originated from the company’s production control system, to thoroughly eliminate inefficiency, with the goal of delivering quality products as quickly as possible according to customers’ orders. The root of TPS went back to automated looms invented by Sakichi Toyoda, father of the founder of Toyota Motor Corporation, and since then, TPS has been enhanced through many years of continuous improvements and applied to various functions even beyond production and logistics, now extending to planning, sales and administration.
Toyota believes that TPS has been and will continue to be an essential part of the company’s management for tirelessly improving its competitiveness toward sustainable growth and delivering its promise of the best mobility solutions to its customers, particularly during this one-in-a-century period of profound transformation which the global automotive industry is experiencing. Further details of TPS can be found here.
In its activities, TSSC focuses on not only making processes and operations more efficient but also leaving legacy in supported organization- the concept of identifying and visualizing issues to be addressed and making continuous improvements on their own, which is the essence of TPS.
Since its launch in June this year, as its first social contribution project, the TSSC supported the Bangbo Hospital located in the Samut Prakarn province, aiming to shorten the waiting time for patients through continuous improvements. The process which a joint team from the hospital and TSSC identified was the process to prepare medicine in an efficient and just in time methodology that matches the patient’s prescription. The team helped the hospital visualize the work flow, identify areas for improvement and make the movement of staff members simpler and more efficient. As a result, the waiting time for patients to receive medicine decreased from 75 to 30 minutes on average (an improvement of 60%), enabling these patients leave the hospital quicker and with peace of mind. TSSC is currently working with the hospital to make also other processes more efficient, and towards further shortening the entire duration that its patients are required to stay in the hospital, and allowing the hospital to treat a larger number of patients
In addition, in November 2020, TSSC just commenced its support toward another medical organization, the Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute, starting with identifying processes and areas to drive improvement.
With planned-to-be-enhanced human resources from within TDEM, TSSC will gradually expand its efforts to use TPS to contribute to the people and societies across Asia, and thereby Produce Happiness for All.
About the Author
Subhash Nair Written work on dsf.my. @subhashtag on instagram. Autophiles Malaysia on Youtube.
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