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.
Having completed several graduate courses in lean production and management during my MSc in Industrial Engineering, I was no stranger to the principles and theories that underpin this field. However, the opportunity to embark on the Lean Japan Tour with Shinka Management was nothing short of transformative. It strengthened my understanding of lean practices to…
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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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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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This was my third visit to Japan with Shinka Management and it is difficult for me to find the right words to express my gratitude for such a well-organized tour and my appreciation for the high quality and on-target content. In my previous visits I received very valuable information related to continuous improvement principles and…
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The whole experience of the lean tour was excellent. I learned so much over the past week and all of my previous knowledge of lean was reinforced. Not only did I learn about lean management but I was also impressed with the Japanese culture. The whole team at Shinka Management were very helpful and made…
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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.