35. The 3M of Toyota

The TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM (TPS) is a manufacturing system (I prefer to call it a “philosophy”) developed over more than 6 decades by Toyota and defines three key concepts:

• MURA (Inconsistency)
• MUDA (Waste)
• MURI (Overburden)

MURA, MUDA, and MURI, or the 3M of the TPS, are foundational pillars of the discipline.

They represent the rust in the organization that corrodes the structure slowly and inexorably through the misuse of resources and uncertainty.

The commitment we must make is to eliminate Inconsistency, reduce Waste, and not Overburden components.

This applies to processes, flows, interfaces, and life.