Yamaha Corporation – Factory Tour
Yamaha corporation is one of the world’s leading musical instrument manufacturers. Founded in 1887 in Hamamatsu City, Yamaha started its journey as a piano and reed organ manufacturer through its founder Mr Torakusu Yamaha. Yamaha also manufactures high-quality audio and video equipment, semiconductors and other electronic components. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor which started as an affiliated company but later became independent.
Corporate Information
- Company: Yamaha Corporation
- Foundation: 1887
- Location: Shizuoka Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of musical instruments, audio equipment and industrial machinery/components
Yamaha Corporation – Lean Characteristics
Quality Management, 5S, Visual Management
Yamaha Corporation is synonymous around the world for manufacturing quality musical instruments. The company has established a system to efficiently manufacture and supply products globally. Today, the company has its production and sales bases over 30 countries and regions around the world. Yamaha operates three factories in Japan for the production of musical instruments – all within Shizuoka Prefecture.
Yamaha is guided by the corporate philosophy of “Sharing Passion & Performance” and the company aspires to fulfil this mission by consistently providing high quality products and services that exceed their customers’ expectations.
The company controls the quality of its products based on its quality management system. The Quality Committee made up of quality control managers from different divisions including business and sales divisions deliberates on the corporate-wide quality policies, objectives and measures and deploys them to all business divisions as the directions of the president. Each division then sets its own quality objectives in line with the quality policies and objectives set by the president. The Corporation Quality Assurance Division checks the monthly quality reports submitted by each division and conducts quality audits to ensure every effort is made so that the target set by each division is fulfilled.
The company also has a good 5S implementation and visual management practices in place.
Bikfaya, Lebanon
Life changing experience. The tour was extremely well prepared: 1. In terms of logistics and schedule, everything was organized to provide enough time for full day efficiency without putting too much physical or cognitive strain. 2. In terms of quality of information, the senseis’ knowledge is world-class level and they were more than willing to…
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Adelaide, SA, Australia
A great housing mission and supported by a passionate and knowledgeable team. The mission had a good mix of Japanese building technology and manufacturing, overlaid with Kaizen and Toyota Production System principles. Participants were also able to take up opportunities to experience the best of Japanese culture. A fantastic all-round learning event.
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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
A high quality, professional and first-hand experience of how just-in-time and lean are mastered. Great for professional development and a genuine motivator to go further using the lean tools available. A marvelous cultural experience.
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Ripley, England, United Kingdom
The Shinka Lean Japan Tour provided an exceptional opportunity to experience Lean thinking and the Toyota Production System (TPS) at its source. Seeing manufacturing operations firsthand brought the principles of continuous improvement and waste elimination to life in a way that classroom learning alone cannot achieve. One of the most valuable aspects of the tour…
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Jerome, Idaho, United States
I was very impressed with the professionalism and preparedness of the Shinka team. The support both before and during the tour was fantastic. It was the right mix of culture and personal development. There were lots of learnings I will take with me.
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Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Paul and Eri from Shinka Management clearly understood the brief and greatly assisted in transforming our industry tour into an enjoyable and exceptional experience immersed in Japanese culture. Without their support we would not have gained the same level of factory access, learnings and knowledge. Well done!
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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
Tour Inquiries
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.
The above form is for inquiries related to the Lean Japan Tour program, Shinka Management consulting and training services, and lean manufacturing software products. Shinka Management does not represent Yamaha. For Yamaha-related product and service inquiries, please contact Yamaha directly.
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