Consultants
Shinji Itakura
Shinji Itakura is a Senior Consultant at Shingijutsu Global Consulting, specializing in manufacturing process improvement and human resource development based on the Toyota Production System (TPS). He began his consulting activities with Shingijutsu Global Consulting in 2019, following a long career in manufacturing and production engineering within Toyota Group companies.
He joined Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd. in 1990 and was assigned to the Assembly Department at the Kariya Plant, where he was responsible for product and equipment failure analysis. He played a key role in process improvement initiatives based on TPS, including line rationalization, flexible manpower systems, and Kaizen activities. He also contributed to the launch preparation of the Inabe Plant, supporting the setup of assembly lines.
In 2000, he served as a manufacturing leader on a major project to restructure assembly operations from a single mixed-model line into two dedicated lines, including a wagon-specific line. Through improvements in work motion and equipment design, he achieved heijunka (leveled production), reduced man-hour variation by vehicle type, and established flexible manpower operations.
He later served as Manufacturing Manager of the Inabe Plant and General Manager of the Technical Office, actively participating in the Toyota Autonomous Study Group and promoting Kaizen at the plant level. Concurrently, he held management roles in overseas production promotion and manufacturing divisions, contributing as a project leader to the successful launch of the Hiace plant in Thailand (Toyota Auto Works Co., Ltd.).
Following the plant launch, he provided on-site support to overseas subsidiaries in Thailand and Malaysia as part of the Mother Plant Overseas Promotion Office. His work focused on quality improvement, equipment availability enhancement, policy deployment (Hoshin Kanri), KPI management, floor management development systems, and the development of local management talent.
Earlier in his career, he worked at Misawa Homes Co., Ltd. (a Toyota Home consolidated subsidiary) from 1986 to 1990, engaging in plant design and production technology improvement, and at Nippon Trailmobile Co., Ltd. (now Nippon Trex Co., Ltd.) from 1980 to 1986, where he was involved in product development and structural design.