I recently had the opportunity to tour the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant (TMMK) in Georgetown, Kentucky. It was my second visit to the plant on top of multiple visits to the TMMTX plant in San Antonio and numerous visits to Toyota plants in Japan.
This was the first visit where I heard this word emphasized so many times:
Raku
Raku is a Japanese word that, according to the tour guide, translates to “comfort” or “ease.” Google Translate says it means “easy.”
I'd heard about the concept in previous tours, along with many examples. The guide referred often to “raku devices” that were installed to make work easier and more comfortable for the team members. Raku devices allow anybody to do certain jobs, “regardless of their strength,” the guide explained.
This video shows a “raku seat” assist device — although I don't know that this video is from a Toyota plant:
We could see the raku seat in use at TMMK, allowing the team member to slide inside the vehicle to install some parts. We saw other raku seats that allowed workers to comfortably do work on the outside of the vehicle at a properly ergonomic height.
The first raku seat was said to be inspired by a TMMK team member who had a bass boat with a moving, sliding seat. The team member made the kaizen suggestion to their team leader (and possibly higher up the management support chain).
It's said that they literally created an initial prototype from a bass boat seat as a way to test the idea.
The final version of this has been adopted as a standard at Toyota plants globally.
Here's a Facebook video of a raku seat from TMMK.
The raku devices demonstrate Toyota's “respect for people” principle (a.k.a. respect for humanity).
It also demonstrates the core kaizen (continuous improvement) goal of making work easier and less frustrating.
It also shows how to improve work ergonomics — reducing injuries and harm to team members.
Beyond the mentions of raku, the tour guide repeatedly pointed out examples of using automation and robotic assists as “co-working” devices–not to replace workers, but to support them. When they have automated jobs (such as the paint shop or certain bolt tightening processes), they've done so because quality was better and/or safety was improved by eliminating a strenuous and/or repetitive job.
They certainly weren't trying to eliminate workers for the sake of cost-cutting or to create some sort of mythical “lights-out” factory, as GM and Tesla aimed to do in different decades, as I've written about before.
Toyota's focus on raku–making work easier, more comfortable, and more accessible for all team members–reinforces its deep commitment to respect for people. These innovations aren't just about efficiency; they demonstrate a culture where employees are empowered to improve their own work environment. The fact that a bass boat seat inspired a globally adopted improvement underscores Toyota's openness to ideas from all levels of the organization.
By integrating ergonomic aids and automation in a way that supports workers rather than replacing them, Toyota exemplifies a balanced approach to technology and human capability. This is a stark contrast to companies that chase full automation at the expense of workforce engagement and quality.
Ultimately, raku embodies the principles of continuous improvement and respect for people–key tenets of the Toyota Production System. It's a reminder that small, thoughtful changes can lead to significant, lasting impact, not just for efficiency but for the well-being of those doing the work.
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I enjoyed this post Mark! I thought the “raku devices” was an ingenious idea for Toyota Raku in order to foster a culture for both respect and continuous improvement. The raku seat clearly offers each member of the team to work in ease and comfort, which in the long run improves both the employee experience and operational efficiency. A question that came to mind when reading this post is how does Toyota Raku measure the impact of the improved ergonomics on both employee satisfaction and overall productivity?
Hi Ava – Thanks for reading and thanks for your question.
I’m not sure how Toyota would break out the specific benefits from the Raku devices. I think they realize it’s the right thing to do for the team members and organizational performance. So I’d guess they don’t about this in terms of ROI or other “impact.”