The revamped Toyota Memorial Hospital is full of Toyota-style innovations and kaizen. Here, we offer a look at what lies inside and the journey to opening day.
The Toyota Memorial Hospital opened its new ward on May 1.
The hospital is packed with the products of Toyota’s monozukuri (manufacturing) and kaizen (improvement), all helping staff to better serve patients, including medicine-carrying robots, a central staff station, and mobile devices that notify patients when they are ready to be seen.
However, the road to the hospital’s opening was not all smooth sailing.
Yuta Tomikawa takes us on a tour of the new ward.
A look inside the new Toyota Memorial Hospital!
The Potaro transport robots that carry medicines and other items to staff are one of the highlights of the new ward.
Toyota Memorial Hospital Assistant Head Nurse Naomi Kuroda (center) and Yoji Akiba (right), head of the TPS/Kaizen Promotion Group that implemented Toyota’s kaizen. Candid discussions gradually helped the kaizen team and hospital staff gain a deeper understanding of the project.
Tomikawa also tried his hand at assembling a robot at Toyota’s facilities. How did it turn out?
On “World Toyota News,” Tomikawa visits Auto Shanghai to hear from the engineers behind the new Lexus LM and RZ, both on display at one of the world’s biggest car shows.
00:47 Kaizen within the new ward
04:58 Creative ways to engage with patients
07:47 Potaro, the highlight of the new ward
10:39 Troubleshooting with genchi genbutsu
12:36 The road to opening day
22:30 Inside the robot-making genba, where Tomikawa tries his hand at assembly
28:55 [World Toyota News] Auto Shanghai