Erik Hager began practicing the Toyota Production System (TPS) over 15 years ago while working at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC). Today, Erik is our Affiliate who we go to when we need the most knowledgeable and accomplished resource available for training and coaching the “daily management” skills of TPS.

He joined TMMC at its inception as a shop floor team leader and accepted increasingly senior international leadership positions including intensive developmental assignments in Japan and the USA. Positions at TMMC include Human Resource Educator and Trainer, Internal Operations Consultant, Kaizen Group Leader, and Manufacturing Group Leader. During his last assignment with Toyota, he helped develop the TPS education framework for TMMC and TSSC. TMMC has since become a multiple winner of the JD Power Gold medal for quality and the Harbour Group Most Productive Plant award. Erik also served as senior consultant with the Toyota Supplier Support Centre (TSSC) under the renowned lean master Hajime Ohba. In this capacity he worked with major manufacturing firms across Toyota’s supply chain North America implementing TPS.

Since becoming an external Lean consultant six years ago, Erik continues to work with manufacturing companies across North America implementing leading edge ideas. He has become one of the leading TPS consultants in North America with his “hands on” manufacturing experience and passion for developing people. His clients include many Fortune 500 and mid-sized manufacturing companies, all of whom have achieved dramatic improvements in on-time delivery, inventory, defect rates, order lead time, changeover time and production space.