Hamamatsu City Government – Site Tour
Hamamatsu City is located on the western side of Shizuoka Prefecture and is the largest city in the Prefecture with a population of around 800,000. Hamamatsu is situated halfway between Tokyo and Osaka and is known as a city of “monozukuri” or creative manufacturing and is home to some of the world’s leading companies such as Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha.
Basic Information
- Population: 800,000
- Region: Tokai Region
- Area: 1,558 square kilometers
- Major Industries: Manufacturing of transport equipment, musical equipment, textile, electronic, optics etc.
Hamamatsu City Government – Lean Characteristics
Office-based improvement
Lean management started to seriously be applied to governments throughout Japan in the mid-1990s. As governments are not driven by profit, the interesting challenge for them in lean implementation is creating a need for improvement.
Hamamatsu City is recognised as one of the leading governments in Japan with a successful lean program. It’s “Good Job” movement is one of the key ways they achieve office-based improvement in work. It is designed as a bottom-up approach to drive government reform on a daily basis.
A strong spirit of improvement is fostered through teams and kaizen leaders. Good ideas are quickly shared and copied into other areas. Linking improvement with the manufacturing word of “muri” or overburden, many ideas generated are about making the tasks of the public servants easier and removing the difficult and frustrating aspects not only from them but also from their service users. The aim here is to create a more comfortable and enjoyable work environment.
The seminar with Hamamatsu City Council will focus on the Good Job program.
I personally believe that understanding of Lean as the holistic concept and Lean instruments is necessary for all the managers in any business. Shinka Management introduced for us the origins of Lean Production and provided a great opportunity to observe real companies where TPS principles are both implemented and being polished daily. Important parts of…
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My experience on the Lean Japan Tour was much more than expected. I’ve come to realise that there’s much more for me to learn regarding TPS. The program is excellent in terms of the content, but also, and no less important, the personalized attention made me feel like I am a member of the Shinka…
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Had the pleasure to accompany Ben and clients on the 2007 Lean Japan Tour. I had worked with many Japanese, ASEAN, UK and US firms and as such have participated in benchmarking assignments and tours of their operations. Some involved attending and presenting at various strategy, productivity and quality management conferences. In that context, I…
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The tour was a great experience on both a personal and a professional level. There was much learning and the culture we encountered was inspiring. I want to thank the Shinka Management team for their efforts in organising such a great and professionally detailed program. It was a pleasure meeting you all.
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A great tour. Having spent over 20 years in manufacturing I now understand the true meaning of Kaizen.
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It was an excellent tour – professionally run and well executed. The companies selected implemented lean at a high degree. The passion they exhibited in sharing their lean journey was very inspiring. I have learned new strategies to bring home to implement. A time well spent.
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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.