Toyota Inspired Excellence Models

Toyota Production System (TPS) created in the 1950s undoubtedly marked the beginning of a new era in production and economy. The paradigm shifts introduced both in terms of the management and organization of material flows and in the way the respect for people became an important pillar, brought enormous benefits to the society. From the 1970s until today, companies and organizations around the world have been implementing this new way of organizing and managing the industry and services to achieve excellence. Since the 1970s, several TPS-Inspired Models of Excellence have been created and have been competing for their academic acceptance and adoption in companies and organizations around the world. The purpose of this article is to analyze the most popular models and compare them in terms of the following criteria: Focus on Pull Flow; Focus on Process; Focus on Respect for People (or Sociotechnical scope); Existence of associated techniques; Coverage on Indirect Areas; Popularity in scientific journals; and Popularity in books. Although being “Lean” frequently referred as synonymous of TPS, according to those criteria, authors are inclined to conclude that Kaizen Model, Toyota Way, and Shingo Model are the most comprehensive excellence models considered in this study.