Shigeo Shingo Biography

Shigeo Shingo consulted for Toyota, teaching seminars for Taiichi Ohno among other things. Was a leader in developing and publicizing the Toyota Production System (the roots of lean maufacturing, lean thinking and Just in Time - JIT). He was a consultant to Toyota, which was quite rare. In general Toyota did not use consultants.

Very interesting interview with Isao Kato on Shingo's influence on Toyota.

He is credited with developing the concept of Poka-Yoke (mistake-proofing).

He lived from 1909 to 1990.

• A Study of the Toyota Production System from an Industrial Engineering - Produce What Is Needed, When It's Needed by Shigeo Shingo, 1989. Dr. Shingo "explains the basic mechanisms of the Toyota production system in a practical and simple way so that you can apply them in your own plant. This book clarifies the fundamental principles of JIT.
• The Sayings of Shigeo Shingo: Key Strategies for Plant Improvement by Shigeo Shingo, Andrew P. Dillon (Editor), 1987.
• A Revolution in Manufacturing: The Smed System by Shigeo Shingo and Andrew P. Dillon (Translator), 1988. "Dr. Shingo, inventor of the Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) system for Toyota, shows you how to reduce your changeovers by an average of 98 percent!"

• Shigeo Shingo Biography at North Carolina State University
• bio on the Shingo Prize site
• Shigeo Shingo at Strategos:
  One day he was explaining Baka-yoke, fool-proofing devices, created and implemented by workers on the factory floor. A young woman started to cry. "Why are you crying?" He asked. "Because I am not a fool," she answered. "I am truly sorry." And at that exact moment he changed the name from Baka-yoke to Poka-yoke, mistake-proofing devices.
• Dr. Shigeo Shingo - The Greatest Manufacturing Consultant by Norman Bodek
• Taiichi Ohno Biography