Where Was Toyota’s First Andon Cord?

Lean Blog by Mark Graban · Aug 3, 2026

For years, I've been asking a very specific question about Lean history: Where was Toyota's first andon cord? Jeff Liker didn't know. Neither did Isao Yoshino. I've asked other former Toyota people. Toyota histories and books about the development of the Toyota Production System usually explain what an andon does. Some describe how the system evolved. Very few identify where Toyota installed the first one. Takehiko Harada's Management Lessons from Taiichi Ohno may finally provide […] The post Where Was Toyota’s First Andon Cord? by Mark Graban appeared first at Lean Blog by Mark…