Most kaizens, or changes that promote continuous improvement, are small, but together, they can have a significant cumulative effect. Occasionally, though, a low-cost change comes along that generates massive savings. At Toyota Motor Corp.’s assembly plant in Buffalo, WV, the manufacturing team came up with just such an extraordinary innovation.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia Inc. (TMMWV) is the carmaker’s only combined engine and transmission plant in North America. Additionally, TMMWV is the only manufacturing plant in North America to produce hybrid transaxles.