Consultants
Senji Niwa
Senji Niwa is an Executive Consultant at Shingijutsu Global Consulting, with more than six decades of experience in manufacturing, Kaizen, and the Toyota Production System. His career is distinguished by long-term, hands-on involvement in the development and practical deployment of core TPS principles, including Just-In-Time, Jidoka, and continuous improvement rooted in people development.
He began his professional career in 1956 at Toyota Boshoku Corporation, where he worked in the Spinning and Weaving Department supporting operations at the Kariya, Nagoya, and Gifu plants. He later transferred to the Automotive Parts Division’s Ignition Coil Section, assuming managerial responsibility for production, manufacturing technology, quality, and engineering. He subsequently advanced to leadership roles as Manager of the Air-Conditioning and Compressor Processing Division and General Manager of the Air Cleaner Division.
In 1973, he was selected to join Taiichi Ohno, the originator of the Toyota Production System, as a member of the Toyota Autonomous Study Group. Under Mr. Ohno’s direct guidance, he supported Kaizen initiatives across Toyota Group companies and played a key role in promoting in-house Just-In-Time production, as well as Kaizen activities at affiliated and supplier companies.
He later served as General Manager of the Production Control Division, overseeing production scheduling, manufacturing progress, equipment planning, and production research. He concluded his tenure at Toyota Boshoku as General Manager of the Human Resources Department, with responsibility for education, safety, personnel planning, and general affairs.
Since joining Shingijutsu Co., Ltd. in 1989 and Shingijutsu Global Consulting in 2003, he has provided on-site consulting to manufacturers and service providers worldwide. His expertise includes Lean Production, Kaizen, Kanban-based JIT systems, Jidoka, Gemba-based improvement, lead time reduction, and quality and productivity enhancement.