Toyota Copied Ford’s Suggestion System–and Got Far Better Results

Lean Blog by Mark Graban · Aug 12, 2026

I've been reading The Birth of Lean, a collection of talks and interviews with the people who helped build the Toyota Production System. One passage stood out because it explains something I had never seen described this clearly: Toyota copied its employee suggestion system directly from Ford. That might be surprising to those who think everything associated with Lean originated inside Toyota. It didn't. Toyota learned from many sources, including Ford. The history also has […] The post Toyota Copied Ford’s Suggestion System–and Got Far Better Results by Mark Graban appeared…