Subaru – Factory Tour
Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries) is one of Japan’s globally renowned car manufacturers. Aside from the automotive manufacturing business, they also have an aerospace business and make aircraft and structural components which represents almost five percent of their revenue.
Corporate Information
- Company: Subaru Corporation
- Foundation: 1953
- Location: Headquartered in Tokyo
- Main Business: Automotive and aerospace manufacturing
Subaru Corporation – Lean Characteristics
Labor Effectiveness, One-Piece Flow Production
Subaru operates two final assembly plants very close to each other in Ota City in Gunma, Japan, and one in Indiana, USA. It produces over one million vehicles from these three facilities per annum with approximately 70% produced in Japan and 30% produced in the USA. Despite this, only 20 percent of their revenue was generated within Japan – meaning their export strategy is key to their success.
The tour will take us through the press, body (weld) and final assembly shops. This is an impressive plant for its labor effectiveness in final assembly (high value-add), its level of automation in the body shop, and the pure size of the press shop.
There is a one-day buffer of parts between the press shop and body shop due to the lot production method used in the press shop, but everything after that is one-piece flow production through the support of its network of component suppliers.
Singapore
The one week Lean Japan Tour not only validates ‘how lean can make business sense’ but also provides the opportunity to learn and share with professionals across different industries.
read more
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
The training schedule is very tight and efficient, the class room training was practical and led by an experienced teacher from Toyota, and the tour visits covered a wide range of industries including car manufacturing, parts processing and healthcare.
read more
Astana, Kazakhstan
I personally believe that an understanding of lean as a holistic concept combined with lean tools is necessary for all managers in any business. Shinka Management introduced us to 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…
read more
Auckland, New Zealand
Paul, Eri and Ichi provided a fantastically well curated tour to the birthplace of continuous improvement. Hearing the theory, experiencing practical hands-on learning at the dojo, and then seeing the theory put into practice at a number of world class manufacturing plants was thought provoking, motivating and inspiring. Now the fun starts – putting theory…
read more
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Not for the fainthearted, this action-packed tour will blow you away. It’s a one-week learning adventure supercharged with information on TPS (Lean) principles. The learning experiences and companies visited far exceeded expectations. The Japanese managers we met were friendly and excited to share their experiences. If you desire change within your organisation and are not…
read more
Kassel, Germany
My expectations for the tour were exceptionally high, but the Shinka Management team exceeded them all. The opportunity to engage with a sensei who possesses decades of experience in the Toyota Production System (TPS) was invaluable. The factory tours, coupled with discussions with managing directors and plant managers, offered profound insights into the organizational culture,…
read more
The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of seminars on lean manufacturing, kaizen and Japanese business eqituette, together with hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the kaizen 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 Subaru. For Subaru-related product and service inquiries, please contact Subaru directly.
Planning a Journey to Japan?
Prepare for your time in Japan with the Shinka Management Guide to Japanese Business Culture.