Omron Kyoto Taiyo – Factory Tour
Omron Kyoto Taiyo is an electrical component manufacturer that was formed as a joint venture between Omron and the social welfare service corporation Japan Sun Industries. The company produces high-quality electrical components used for industrial equipment such as sockets, timers and photoelectric sensors. The company is at the forefront of diversity as a majority of their employees have a disability.
Corporate Information
- Company: Omron Kyoto Taiyo
- Foundation: 1986
- Location: Kyoto Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of electrical components
Omron Kyoto Taiyo – Lean Characteristics
Kaizen, 5S
Omron Kyoto Taiyo is a highly competitive company producing high-quality electrical control devices and components despite the fact that a majority of their employees have a disability with different levels of physical abilities and skills. Rather than treating this characteristic of their workforce as an excuse for not applying kaizen, they actually use kaizen as a means to achieve a safe and comfortable work environment for their employees whilst pursuing outstanding levels of quality and efficiency.
At the Omron Kyoto Taiyo factory, production lines are tailored with the use of jigs, helping devices and tools to meet the needs of individual workers according to the characteristics of their disability so that they can work without any loss of productivity. All the necessary modifications and devices have been made in-house by technicians who themselves are not able-bodied.
The company also recognizes the importance of identifying and developing individual’s skills to improve their production capacity. Managers measure workers’ knowledge, skill level and work speed to produce a human resource map and identify the gap between their abilities and the skills required for production lines. Managers take the gap into account when assigning workers to each task to make the best use of their individual capabilities. When it is impossible for the gap to be closed, helping devices are introduced to compensate the need for the skill.
The company has a unique and innovative approach for 5S where all workers can be involved to keep their shop floor tidy and organized.
Learn from a company that aspires to make the most of its diversity where everyone’s ability and potential are fulfilled with creative solutions.

The program was well organised and structured. The whole Shinka team were amazing and very accommodating. To be honest I was not certain that lean was the right fit for our business. But the refresher in Japan has opened up my eyes as to how it can be practically applied. The lean tour has prompted…
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The March 2025 Lean Japan Tour was an incredible opportunity to experience Japanese culture and kaizen practices firsthand. I would rate my overall satisfaction with this tour as outstanding. Honestly, it is very difficult to identify areas for improvement in the program, as it is executed with such professionalism and extensive experience. The dedication and…
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Businesses need every weapon at their disposal to help compete in a global market. This tour opens up more ideas and opportunities and is highly recommended to manufacturers, engineering or service related industries. Everyone can learn something on this tour! Paul and Ben have done a marvelous job of putting together an action-packed week, which…
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This tour was recommended to me by our VP Operations who undertook the tour the previous year. Both Ben and Paul provided an excellent tour of the Japanese manufacturing industry and the program was both well run and highly focused towards the practical implementation of lean strategies. There were plenty of opportunities to ask questions…
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A very valuable and well-organized experience. Getting good access to factories where TPS and lean manufacturing are used as well as the instruction from experienced instructors made this a very worthwhile experience. Participants should leave well equipped to train others as well as conduct kaizen practices themselves.
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I’d rate 100% for this trip. It fulfilled or even exceeded my expectations. Reasonable arrangement of class, practice and plant visits; and high quality service for everything during the trip.
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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.
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