Nissan Motor Kyushu – Factory Tour
Nissan Motor Kyushu is one of five manufacturing sites across Japan producing finished vehicles for Nissan. The company started its operation in 1975 as the first car manufacturing company in Kyushu. It is located on the coast of Suo Sea in Fukuoka Prefecture in the northern Kyushu region.
Corporate Information
- Company: Nissan Motor Kyushu
- Foundation: 1975
- Location: Headquartered in Fukuoka Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of automobiles and car parts
Nissan Motor Kyushu – Lean Characteristics
Synchronized Production, Nissan Production Way
Nissan Motor Kyushu has the capacity to produce 530,000 of the Serena and X-Trail/Rogue models per year. Nissan Motor Kyushu ships directly from its port aside the factory to destinations around the world. One ship can carry around 5,000 vehicles parked just 10 centimeters apart.
The Nissan Production Way (NPW) is the Nissan version of TPS. It is a manufacturing system that synchronizes all production processes on the basis of customer order information in order to maintain the production sequence and delivery time.
Nissan does not operate with a kanban system to achieve this. Instead, it utilizes an approach it calls doki seisan, or synchronized production, to minimize waste and drive continuous improvement on the shop floor to produce reliable and high-quality vehicles within a short lead time.
I had several projects that I had been procrastinating on. They seemed too big, too complicated and I was actually struggling to know where to start. Without a word of a lie, after the first day I came back to my hotel room and wrote up the backbone of my strategy using the skills I…
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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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During the Lean Japan Tour I came to the realization that improving an organization is not through large capital investments alone. We were completely surrounded by examples of minor investments into small improvements that produced significant savings. The clever use of visual management techniques gave a clear understanding of the current situation and Ben who…
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It was an inspiring week with great learnings around lean and how it is applied across various levels of the supply chain. The tour also provides a nice glimpse into the Japanese culture with its amazing food and friendly people.
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The whole tour was very professionally undertaken and led. Paul and Ben have to be congratulated for putting together a very informative and very enjoyable experience. The itinerary was excellent and to see from the raw material all the way through the supply chain through to the finished product was superb. I loved the thought…
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This trip really enlightened me in some specific lean topics and showed me all the beneficial aspects of lean manufacturing. The biggest take away for me was a deeper appreciation of not just the tools but the philosophy. The way the trip was organised and flowed was amazing. Thanks to Paul and David from Shinka…
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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.