LeanTPS™ teaches the Toyota Production System as it was designed to operate: an integrated management system built on Respect for People, Continuous Improvement, Standardized Work, and Leadership Governance. Our mission is to develop practical capability through structured learning that can be applied immediately in real operating environments.
Our Purpose
LeanTPS™ was created to provide education that reflects how the Toyota Production System was designed to operate. Rather than teaching a collection of independent Lean tools, LeanTPS™ presents TPS as an integrated management system where every principle, practice, and leadership responsibility works together to achieve sustainable performance.
Many organizations implement individual tools such as 5S, Standardized Work, Visual Management, or Kaizen as isolated initiatives. While these practices can deliver localized improvements, lasting organizational capability requires understanding how they function as part of a complete operating system. LeanTPS™ develops that understanding by teaching the relationships between principles, systems, leadership, and daily management.
Our purpose is to help individuals and organizations move beyond tool implementation toward system thinking. Learning is structured to build knowledge, develop understanding, strengthen practical capability, and support confident application in real operating environments.
Every course, resource, and certification program is designed with a single objective:
To develop people who can understand, apply, sustain, and continuously improve the Toyota Production System as an integrated management system.
Our Philosophy
The Toyota Production System is founded on a set of enduring principles that guide how organizations develop people, manage processes, solve problems, and achieve continuous improvement. LeanTPS™ teaches these principles as an integrated management system rather than as independent concepts.
Our educational philosophy is built on four foundational pillars:
Respect for People
Respect for People recognizes that sustainable improvement depends on developing capability throughout the organization. Leaders create the conditions for success by providing clear expectations, effective coaching, meaningful engagement, and opportunities for continuous learning.
Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement is the disciplined pursuit of better ways to perform work. Improvement is achieved through observation, experimentation, verification, and learning, ensuring that every successful improvement becomes the new standard for future performance.
Standardized Work
Standardized Work establishes the current best-known method for performing work safely, consistently, and efficiently. It creates the baseline required to identify abnormalities, reduce variation, support problem solving, and enable continuous improvement.
Leadership Governance
Leadership Governance ensures that the management system is sustained through visible leadership, routine confirmation, structured problem solving, and continual reinforcement of organizational standards. Leaders are responsible for developing capability, maintaining system discipline, and supporting continuous improvement throughout the organization.
Together, these four pillars provide the foundation for every LeanTPS™ course, learning resource, and certification program. Rather than studying isolated tools, participants develop an understanding of how the Toyota Production System functions as a complete, interconnected management system that can be applied and sustained in real operating environments.
Why LeanTPS™ Is Different
Many training programs introduce Lean as a collection of tools, methodologies, or improvement events. Participants often learn individual techniques such as 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Standardized Work, Kanban, or Kaizen without understanding how those practices function together within a complete management system.
LeanTPS™ takes a different approach.
Our curriculum teaches the Toyota Production System as an integrated operating system in which principles, leadership, standardized processes, daily management, and continuous improvement work together to create sustainable organizational capability. Every course is designed to help participants understand not only what each practice is, but also why it exists, how it connects to the broader system, and when it should be applied.
Rather than emphasizing tool implementation alone, LeanTPS™ develops the knowledge and practical capability required to establish stable operating conditions, make abnormalities visible, solve problems systematically, and sustain improvement over time.
Participants learn through a structured progression that builds understanding before application. Each topic establishes the foundation for the next, reflecting the way Toyota develops capability through progressive learning rather than isolated instruction.
The result is education that prepares participants to apply the Toyota Production System with confidence, consistency, and a clear understanding of the relationships that enable long-term operational excellence.
Our Learning Approach
LeanTPS™ follows the same progressive learning philosophy used within the Toyota Production System. Capability is not developed by memorizing tools or completing isolated training modules. It is developed through a structured sequence in which each concept establishes the knowledge required to understand and apply the next.
Our learning model follows five progressive stages:
Knowledge
Participants establish a clear understanding of core Toyota Production System concepts, terminology, principles, and operating methods.
Understanding
Learning moves beyond definitions to explain how individual concepts interact within an integrated management system and why each practice exists.
Capability
Participants strengthen their knowledge through guided exercises, observation, analysis, and practical application, developing the confidence to perform the work correctly.
Application
Learning is transferred to the workplace through structured implementation, enabling participants to apply Toyota Production System principles to real operating environments.
Continuous Improvement
Capability continues to develop through observation, problem solving, verification, standardization, and ongoing learning. Every verified improvement becomes the foundation for future improvement.
This progressive approach ensures that participants develop more than technical knowledge. They gain the understanding, practical capability, and confidence required to apply the Toyota Production System consistently, sustain improvements, and contribute to long-term organizational success.
About the Founder
LeanTPS™ was developed by David Devoe to provide practical education based on the principles and operating methods of the Toyota Production System.
David has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, operations, quality, and continuous improvement across automotive, material handling, construction, medical devices, aerospace, nuclear, and industrial manufacturing. His career includes leadership roles in operations, quality management, ISO management systems, and enterprise continuous improvement.
During his time with Toyota Material Handling Canada, David received formal Toyota Production System education and participated in extensive TPS development activities, including three months of intensive Kaizen training at Toyota Industries Corporation’s Takahama Plant in Japan. He also participated in multiple Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America (TMMNA) Jishuken and cross-functional improvement initiatives, applying Toyota principles within real production environments.
Throughout his career, David has led large-scale operational improvement initiatives, developed management systems, coached leaders, implemented standardized work, and supported organizations in building sustainable continuous improvement capability.
LeanTPS™ brings together that practical experience into a structured learning system that reflects how the Toyota Production System is designed to operate. Every course, workbook, and certification program is intended to help participants move beyond learning individual tools to developing the capability to understand, apply, sustain, and continuously improve an integrated management system.
Who LeanTPS™ Serves
LeanTPS™ is designed for individuals and organizations seeking a deeper understanding of the Toyota Production System and the capability to apply its principles within real operating environments.
Our education is relevant across a wide range of industries where safe, consistent, high-quality processes and continuous improvement are essential.
Manufacturing
Develop stable processes, standardized work, leadership capability, and continuous improvement systems that improve safety, quality, delivery, and productivity.
Healthcare
Apply Toyota Production System principles to improve patient flow, reduce variation, strengthen standardization, and support continuous improvement throughout clinical and administrative processes.
Construction
Establish consistent operating practices, improve coordination, reduce waste, and strengthen leadership governance across complex project environments.
Government and Public Services
Improve service delivery through standardized processes, visual management, structured problem solving, and leadership practices that support sustainable improvement.
Distribution and Logistics
Strengthen operational flow, improve inventory management, reduce process variation, and develop stable systems that respond effectively to customer demand.
Service Organizations
Apply Toyota Production System principles to knowledge work, administrative processes, customer service, and business operations to improve consistency, quality, and organizational capability.
Regardless of industry, LeanTPS™ develops practical capability that can be applied wherever people, processes, and continuous improvement come together.
Start Your Learning Journey
Whether you are beginning your study of the Toyota Production System or expanding your professional capability, LeanTPS™ provides structured learning pathways designed to meet you where you are and support your continued development.
Explore our learning resources, individual courses, and practitioner certification programs to build the knowledge, understanding, and practical capability required to apply the Toyota Production System with confidence.
Our Commitment
LeanTPS™ is committed to teaching the Toyota Production System as an integrated management system through accurate, practical, and professionally developed education. Every course, resource, and certification program is designed to build lasting capability that can be applied, sustained, and continuously improved in real operating environments.