There are many different projects associated with running a company.Some examples of projects are concerts, construction of buildings, andthe production of large aircrafts. In regards to Toyota, one exampleof a project would be the production of a new line of automobiles.The production project example would be the basic form of operationsinvolved in the process.
The primary tasks that would be necessary in carrying out thisproject within Toyota would be allocating the proper resources, suchas the parts needed in the various stages of production, assigningproject leaders to oversee the process, scheduling and organizing timeand expenses in order to finish when needed and many more. The tasksinvolved in a project can be traced back into the basic principles ofmanagement including, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.The tasks get broken down into incremental stages and carried out oneat a time.
Our company Toyota most commonly uses Gantt charts in order to carryout the project as intended. The activity description is stated alongthe rows and the estimated time along the columns. This gives theproject leaders a simplified view of the tasks at hand and how theywill be addressed. These charts are put together through specializedsoftware that is varied among different companies in the market. Itcannot be pinpointed whether or not employees at Toyota use strictlyone particular program or switch off between various types.Regardless of the fact, the software all has one priority, and that isto make the lives of project leaders easier by putting projects tasksin step by step format.
Our recommendations to Toyota would be to make sure that the projectleader is selected properly since he or she is the most importantaspect in a project. It is their job to make sure everything isrunning smoothly and according to plan.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Quality Control
Toyota is a company at the forefront of automotive and engineering innovation and quality. Quality control charts are used by Toyota but in a different manner. Since quality control receives most of the attention because of its statistical nature and the odds of error in sampling sizes are far too great to risk Quality Control is “built into the process”. That is to say that Quality Control can be assured only when it is built into the process and when said inspection provides immediate and accurate feedback at the source of the defect. Thus newer methods were added on to Quality Control that required and emphasis on inspection be it self inspection or more progressively Successive Inspection. Self-Inspection allows for the most instantaneous feedback but it is flawed; unintentional errors are compromise judgments due to work loads are presented. More effectiveness in QC lies within Successive Inspection where workers inspect products passed along from a previous operation before processing them themselves. This method improves prior methods but Toyota has aided by “enhancing” the S.I. method by providing systems and devices that allow for immediate and efficient defect detection. The Quality Control now becomes utmost reliant on Enhanced Successive Inspection in the plant itself but Toyota does not rest in the field of QC. Management sends out Q.C. agents to detect errors at the Source; Vertical and Horizontal Source Detection. Toyota possesses a penchant of trust for their employees and relies heavily on a trained and intelligent workforce. The Six Sigma practice is apparent as the company has a huge philosophy on detection and prevention of errors limiting it to the 99.999991%.
Monday, April 5, 2010
4 Dimensions of Quality
Quality of Design
Historically, Toyota has invested much time and money in research and development when designing the quality of its products. However, recent years have shown that Toyota’s quality of design has been falling. “In Sept 2006, Jim Press, then the company's President of North American Operations, at a Toyota Japan headquarters presentation, reported that the number of Toyota vehicles recalled had increased sharply from 2003 to 2005. Parenthetically, I note that complaints lodged against Toyota with NHTSA, increased in almost linear fashion from about 1,100 in the year 2000 to almost 5,000 in 2009”(Cole 1). Akio Toyoda recently blamed the lack of human resources for the company’s product quality failure. He believes that the company could not train its employees fast enough to keep up with Toyota’s growth rate. However, many industry analysts believe that the top priority of Toyota’s quality of design has switched from product safety and quality to high sales volumes and low costs.
Historically, Toyota has invested much time and money in research and development when designing the quality of its products. However, recent years have shown that Toyota’s quality of design has been falling. “In Sept 2006, Jim Press, then the company's President of North American Operations, at a Toyota Japan headquarters presentation, reported that the number of Toyota vehicles recalled had increased sharply from 2003 to 2005. Parenthetically, I note that complaints lodged against Toyota with NHTSA, increased in almost linear fashion from about 1,100 in the year 2000 to almost 5,000 in 2009”(Cole 1). Akio Toyoda recently blamed the lack of human resources for the company’s product quality failure. He believes that the company could not train its employees fast enough to keep up with Toyota’s growth rate. However, many industry analysts believe that the top priority of Toyota’s quality of design has switched from product safety and quality to high sales volumes and low costs.
Quality of Conformance
Because of Toyota’s recent lack of quality in design, production has suffered as a result. Recently, the company has experienced a large number of recalls including a sticking accelerator pedal and a floor mat recall of many Toyota Camrys produced from 2007 to 2010. Recent years have shown that many of Toyota’s products have not met the quality and safety specifications of its customers.
Because of Toyota’s recent lack of quality in design, production has suffered as a result. Recently, the company has experienced a large number of recalls including a sticking accelerator pedal and a floor mat recall of many Toyota Camrys produced from 2007 to 2010. Recent years have shown that many of Toyota’s products have not met the quality and safety specifications of its customers.
Abilities
As with any automobile, Toyota’s customers are looking to buy a car that is reliable and maintainable. Since the 1970s, Toyota has had a history of producing cheap cars with high MTBF. This reliability is what has made Toyota the best car manufacturing company in the world. However, this MTBF has dropped significantly in recent years, made evident of the recent recalls. Toyota has a long road ahead of them to restore its product’s reputation as reliable and maintainable.
As with any automobile, Toyota’s customers are looking to buy a car that is reliable and maintainable. Since the 1970s, Toyota has had a history of producing cheap cars with high MTBF. This reliability is what has made Toyota the best car manufacturing company in the world. However, this MTBF has dropped significantly in recent years, made evident of the recent recalls. Toyota has a long road ahead of them to restore its product’s reputation as reliable and maintainable.
Field Service
Toyota has always offered a number of different warranties for different cars. In reference to repairing all vehicles affected by the recall, Toyota has posted the following on their new website dedicated to the recall.
“Toyota will begin contacting customers to let them know when to bring in their vehicles for the fix, and some of them will be notified as early as this week (Week beginning, Monday, February 1). Because of the number of vehicles involved, it will take time to process and mail the instructions to all involved vehicle owners, and Toyota appreciates its owners’ patience during this time. Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall. Upon receipt of an owner notification letter that their vehicle is involved, owners will be asked to please contact a local Toyota dealership to schedule an appointment to have their vehicle fixed (Toyota).
The company has taken full responsibility for the recall situation, and will pay the all the costs of repairs.
Toyota has always offered a number of different warranties for different cars. In reference to repairing all vehicles affected by the recall, Toyota has posted the following on their new website dedicated to the recall.
“Toyota will begin contacting customers to let them know when to bring in their vehicles for the fix, and some of them will be notified as early as this week (Week beginning, Monday, February 1). Because of the number of vehicles involved, it will take time to process and mail the instructions to all involved vehicle owners, and Toyota appreciates its owners’ patience during this time. Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall. Upon receipt of an owner notification letter that their vehicle is involved, owners will be asked to please contact a local Toyota dealership to schedule an appointment to have their vehicle fixed (Toyota).
The company has taken full responsibility for the recall situation, and will pay the all the costs of repairs.
Recommendations
Since quality starts with the design of the product, Toyota should invest more time and money into research and development. This will put a greater emphasis on creating a product that meets and surpasses customer’s expectations. In addition, the company should invest more on training its employees, as well as focusing more on inspecting each product before it is delivered to the customer. This will help limit the number of recalls Toyota experiences. Overall, the company must return to its original philosophy that emphasizes quality and safety.
Robert E. Cole is Professor Emeritus, Haas School of Business and Dept. Sociology, UC Berkeley, Executive Director, and Visiting Researcher, ITEC, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/customer-faqs-regarding-the-sticking-153495.aspx#link 1
Since quality starts with the design of the product, Toyota should invest more time and money into research and development. This will put a greater emphasis on creating a product that meets and surpasses customer’s expectations. In addition, the company should invest more on training its employees, as well as focusing more on inspecting each product before it is delivered to the customer. This will help limit the number of recalls Toyota experiences. Overall, the company must return to its original philosophy that emphasizes quality and safety.
Robert E. Cole is Professor Emeritus, Haas School of Business and Dept. Sociology, UC Berkeley, Executive Director, and Visiting Researcher, ITEC, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan
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