All leaders within Toyota are required to learn the Job Instruction Training
method. The course format and structure is also used for many other training
courses within Toyota and is based on 5 two-hour sessions, for a total of 10
hours. The course is led by a trainer who received certification from one of
Toyota’s “master trainers,” someone with exceptional skills and many hours
of experience. The course itself is structured to follow the basic training format:
First the trainer tells and shows the method, then the student tries, and the
instructor provides coaching. In other words, the students are required to iden-
tify a practice job to demonstrate in the classroom with guidance from the
instructor and other students. Whenever possible, the training demonstrations
can be conducted in the work area. The following is the basic outline of the Job
Instruction Training method. The original material is available from any major
library, and there are several organizations that provide TWI specific training.
We suggest that you use the following information only to gain an under-
standing of the method, but that you thoroughly learn the method prior to
attempting to use it.
You will see that this method requires quite a bit of time and effort, both for
the trainer and for the student. This may be why the method was abandoned.
We hear over and over again that people are “too busy” to spend this amount
of time with training. Perhaps there is an endless cycle. Poorly trained workers
have more quality problems, safety problems, and less consistent performance
overall. These problems consume much of the leader’s time, and the leader does
not have time to train. This reminds us of the old commercial for a transmission
repair service where the technician proclaims, “You can pay me now, or you can
pay me later.” In this case, an investment on the front end will pay handsome
dividends on the back end. If you elect to shortcut on employee education and
training, you will be paying in perpetuity.
- Break Down the Job
The first step of the training process is to analyze the work and develop a train-
ing aid called a “Job Breakdown Sheet” (Figure 11-1). This sheet is based on
standardized work, but because the goal is to train effectively, the job break-
down is done with training in mind. The more high-level work steps on the
Standardized Work Sheet, for instance, may be broken down into two or more
“training steps.” These more “bite-sized” steps can be taught without over-
whelming the student. Breaking the job into training segments is a skill that is
refined with experience. During this training, the worker is observed to deter-
mine how well he or she has learned. If the trainer sees the trainee struggling,
the training method will be adjusted.
After the training steps are determined (TWI refers to them as “important
steps” and Toyota refers to them as “major steps”) each step is analyzed to deter-