Institute History

Overview:

In 2005, after several years of research seeking more successful training methods, TWI Institute Director Bob Wrona partnered with Senior Master TWI Trainer Patrick Graupp to resurrect the extremely successful, but long-forgotten Training Within Industry program (see Program History). Since that time, the Institute’s efforts have quickly taken hold and it has become the center for TWI information, trainer certification, implementation guidance, instructional materials and connections with the TWI community.

The Journey Leading to the TWI Institute:

As an Organizational Development consultant implementing TQM for small and mid-sized companies, Bob Wrona studied Japanese manufacturing techniques, especially Kaizen. He became aware of TWI and its U.S. roots in the boosting industrial production for the 1940s war effort through Professor Alan Robinson in 1998. He was impressed to learn that TWI is still heavily used throughout Japan and is an essential element of the Toyota Production System (TPS).

Alan introduced Bob to Patrick Graupp who was employed by SANYO in San Diego. Patrick, fluent in both English and Japanese, had previously spent over 10 years in Japan with Sanyo’s Corporate Training Center, rising to the level of TWI Master Trainer. He successfully implemented the TWI program in Sanyo facilities across the globe. Bob and Pat quickly developed a great rapport and a mutual interest in reintroducing the TWI program in the United States. Their goal turned into a reality after Bob joined the Central New York Technology Development Organization (CNYTDO) as a Lean Consultant in 2001, providing a base for them to reintroduce TWI to companies in Syracuse, NY and then throughout the US.

Through pilot programs delivered by Patrick, CNYTDO demonstrated that TWI enabled companies to achieve significant results with little investment in training by leveraging the knowledge and skills of their supervisor/team leader group. CNYTDO was soon responding to requests from companies throughout the US looking to do the same. Patrick and Bob collaborated to train additional trainers to deliver TWI.

The need for standardization to quickly spread the training was apparent with the first group of trainers that wanted to “personalize” or to “modernize” the methodology. After reviewing the archived materials from WWII with those used in Japan, Bob and Pat determined that to successfully deliver TWI they would have to recreate the materials trainers used to learn how to deliver TWI as the program was delivered during WWII and in Japan since 1945. Their work is documented in their book The TWI Workbook: Essential Skills for Supervisors, a Shingo Prize winner.

During the first year Bob and Patrick worked on TWI, Patrick took vacation time to deliver pilot projects and then recreate materials for CNYTDO. The results of their efforts encouraged Pat to leave SANYO in 2002 and work with CNYTDO to deliver and document how to deliver the TWI program in the US as he was taught in Japan. These standardized training manuals and materials are now used by the TWI Institute to train and certify trainers on how to deliver JR, JI and JM as was done by the TWI Service during WWII. Patrick also documented the format on how he was trained as a TWI Master Trainer (trainer of trainers) in Japan. To date, he has trained two TWI Master Trainers for TWI Institute.

Thanks to Bob and Patrick’s dedication, TWI is now readily available nationally and internationally in English and in Spanish from the TWI Institute.