Yanmar – Factory Tour
Yanmar is a leading global brand in the design and manufacture of high-performance diesel engines. Their engines are used in a wide variety of applications such as agricultural and construction equipment, marine vessels as well as industrial and energy systems. The company also manufactures its own agricultural, construction and industrial machines and has a well-established global sales and service network operating in more than 130 countries.
Corporate Information
- Company: Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.
- Foundation: 1912
- Location: Headquartered in Osaka Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of diesel engines and related machines
Yanmar – Lean Characteristics
Leveled Production (Heijunka), Kaizen, Visual Management
Yanmar is a Japanese high-performance diesel engine manufacturer headquartered in Osaka. The company was founded by Magokichi Yamaoka in 1912. Born to a poor farming family and having witnessed the hard life of many farmers, Magokichi had a strong desire to “reduce the burden of the common laborer through the power of machinery”. Under his leadership, the company developed and released the world’s first commercially viable small diesel engine in 1933, which was well suited to the demands of agricultural application and made farming work easier and faster for many farmers. Magokichi’s legacy of innovation and environmental awareness have been reflected in their high-quality products.
The Yanmar Biwa Factory was established in 1955 and is located near Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture. The factory is fitted with cutting-edge production equipment and has developed itself to be a highly flexible plant to meet the diverse needs of their customers. They produce a wide range of vertical water-cooled diesel engines in a high-mix low-volume production environment. The factory achieves flexible manufacturing through leveled production also known as Heijunka in Japanese.
The factory actively promotes and facilitates kaizen activities and great examples of kaizen ideas implemented are on display. The factory tour also features effective use of laser guided vehicles (LGV) as well as excellent visual management tools used throughout the shop floor.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The Lean Japan Tour was well organized and full of passion, knowledge and hands-on practice. I was glad to join the program. Thanks a lot to the Shinka Management team.
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Singapore
The Lean Japan Tour with Shinka Management was an inspiring and transformative experience. Seeing lean practices in action and learning from Japanese companies was truly eye-opening. This journey has motivated me to embrace lean principles in my own work. Big thanks to Shinka Management for such an enriching program — I highly recommend it!
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Fort Myers, Florida, United States
This was my first real experience with training tourism and it was a smashing success. Paul, Eri, and Ichi were professional and patient in their approach to dealing with the tour members and competent and knowledgeable on the subject of Lean/Kaizen. My time with them convinced me that this course of action is the right…
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Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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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Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
I would like to thank the Shinka team. They have been doing very well since day one of the program notification. Their work is a demonstration of the lean principles of standard work and Plan, Do, Check and Action (PDCA). The Shinka team arranged factory visits to various tiers of the automotive industry and building…
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Pforzheim, Germany
The Lean Japan Tour was the best lean management experience I have had. I wish I had done this earlier, so I could have done some things differently. One learns that some aspects of lean that one thought one knew, really have a different dimension to them. It helps to see lean management where it…
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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run by our team of lean manufacturing consultants 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.