By Kevin Meyer
While Toyota executives are scurrying around having lost their way, the employees at their factories are doing what Toyota does best: improving.
For the past week, Toyota's leaders have wrestled with the fallout from
an unprecedented recall of 4.5 million vehicles that will likely cost
the automaker $2 billion in repairs and lost sales. Here at the
company's largest North American plant, the workers who assemble two of
those recalled models are thinking more than ever about quality.
Those employees still understand that the power of the Toyota system revolves around people, especially the brains of those people.
Workers affected by the idling had the option of taking paid
vacation or unpaid leave, but the vast majority came to work, with many
taking training sessions, cleaning assembly line stations or applying
new coats of paint. But it's also been a time for the plant's more than
200 "quality circles" to meet and find ways to solve assembly problems,
searching for sometimes elusive answers to Toyota's quest for better
efficiency and lower costs.Each
circle, a program done globally at Toyota plants, consists of seven to
eight employees across the plant who volunteer to focus on a particular
issue. When the assembly lines are running, the circles meet after work
or during break times.
So what types of problems and issues are tackled?
"Sometimes it's tough to work on the processes while the line is up,
so this is an opportune time this week to go to the process and make
some modifications while the line is down," said Nancy Corey, quality
circle administrator in Georgetown.On Friday, among the teams
meeting were one examining how to make faster and less expensive
repairs to tools and another looking to recycle a supplier's velcro
ties."Some things seem very small but they have a big impact," Corey said.
Small things… small improvements. Toyota is known for many suggestions per employee per year and the art and science of kaizen. The cumulative effect is massive in terms of productivity and quality.
Toyota is also known for the andon – celebrating the discovery of problems as a chance to improve, and the stopping of the line to ensure those discovered problems never see the light of day. Contain the problem, fix the problem, then prevent the problem from ever reoccurring. I saw it myself when I visited the Lexus factory in Kyushu.
Toyota's executives, perhaps in their haste to grow and conquer new markets, forgot that last part. They still have a chance to survive the increasing maelstrom if they leverage what their employees still remember.
Len Spleen says
I wonder what was going on with these employees BEFORE the recent quality problems came to the attention of the media.
It seems that if they were observing Lean principles, the recent quality problems wouldn’t have happened. All of a sudden, they are all little worker bees in their quality circle hives painting the assembly line on their own time? Are ya kidding?
Scott Dailey, C.P.M. says
I applaud Toyota’s production employees for searching for improvements. But what about the design engineers? Are they huddling to search out better design, e.g. accelerator assemblies? Have they zeroed in on 1 design that will serve worldwide needs (as they have at least 2 separate designs across Asia and NA). Poor design negates any and all efficiencies that the shop floor employees have implemented.
Also, what do you think the employees of tier 1/2/3 suppliers are doing while the Toyota production lines are shut down … likely collecting unemployment as the sub tier suppliers cannot withstand another demand ‘shock’ to their financials.
Kevin says
I was specific about saying the shop floor folks were doing things right… I do not believe the same about management (err… leadership?). The shop floor guys do a great job of ensuring the [flawed] design is installed perfectly, but that still means the design was flawed and management did not rapidly identify a problem after complaints started coming in. So to Scott’s point, is a single great design across multiple platforms really optimal? Or does it increase risk when a problem is found?
Tony says
Another view of the Toyota problem:
http://www.designnews.com/article/446480-Toyota_s_Problem_Was_Unforeseeable.php
Paul Ipolito says
I would like to add another “Lesson From Japan” if I may.Like most of us involved in North American manufacturing, I spent the 1980’s and 1990’s learning about the Japanese devotion to quality.I was convinced that any product made in Japan, especially an automotive product,would always be superior to its North American counterpart.Then, I bought a brand new 2004 Mazda MPV minivan.My perception of Japanese quality has been forever changed by my experiences with Mazda customer service.In the 5+ years of ownership the MPV has had brake issues, body panels replaced due to corrosion,a faulty air-conditioner and three of six ignition coils replaced.The ignition coil problem is the most interesting as a Google search reveals that the only people unaware of this problem reside at Mazda USA headquarters in Irvine, CA.I would not be so bold as to suggest that Mazda is ignoring the voice of their customers, but I would suggest they have not applied the proper level of dilligence to this problem.The spirt of continuous improvement appears to have been lost on Japanese management over the last decade.