CASE-2: TOM AT TOYOTA Toyota Corporation a Multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. It is the world's largest automobile manufacturer by sales and production. The company has its own version of quality management called the Toyota production system or TPS. The TPS includes just in time production which means manufacturing products in required amounts avoiding excess inventories. Toyota invented the concept of Justin Time in 1938 (often described as "Just in time, stop the line'). The objective was not simply to reduce inventory, as is often thought, but to avoid building up too much stock with defects which would have to be written off or corrected. Just in Time and this culture of quality evolved into the Toyota Production System also known as "lean production", owes itself to the work of Edward Deming and is today a reference point for Quality Management worldwide. The idea behind just in time is manufacturing the required amounts in required numbers at the required time. For instance the assembly line of a car arrives all the sub assembly lines should reach the main assembly line in right quantities. This will eliminate the need for inventories thus removing the requirement for warehouses and storage facilities. As a result the inventory cost will be drastically reduced giving a higher capital turn out to the company. The JIT manufactures quality products in an efficient manner by completely eliminating waste, inconsistencies and unwanted use of production lines. According to the JIT the Toyota by adhering to the following guidelines can manufacture a car which was ordered by a customer in a soonest possible manner. Toyota was one of the first to implement Quality Control in the 1940's and 1950's. Total Quality Management (TQM) would not be what it is today without Toyota Motors. Toyota introduced Statistical Quality Control (SQC) in 1949. in 1951, Toyota launched the "Creative Idea Suggestion System" to support and encourage employees in making effective contributions to the company's development. The company also makes great efforts to give back with community-based projects and environmental initiatives. These concepts are at the core of Toyota's Production System (TPS), and have led to higher quality of products and work, and improvement in all aspects of the organization, from individuals to services. work, and improvement in all aspects of the organization, from individuals to services. The core principles of Toyota are "Customer First" and kaizen meaning continuous improvement and total participation" which means the involvement and input of all employees. Toyota boasts many management tools such as its 8 Step Practical Problem Solving method, PDCA, A3 Reporting and ss. Graphs, extensive timelines and reports line the company's website to address the evolution of TQM and Quality Control (QC) throughout its 75-year history. Toyota Motors Co., Ltd. has received various prestigious awards for quality management, including the Deming Application Prize in 1965 and the Japan Quality Control Award in 1970. The Toyota Way The company established The Toyota Way, a set of business principles, in 2001. It is based on kaizen continuous improvement and strives to eliminate waste and overproduction, as well as to create a bureaucratic system where any employee can suggest a change where they see fit. There is a high value on human participation. There is constant encouragement for further innovation, consensus and ideas for improvement. The Toyota Way also focuses on long-term improvements rather than short-term. The two main pillars of the Toyota Way are Customer First' and 'Respect for people'. - Brief Toyota's Quality Management system. (2 Marks) b) What were the reasons of success for Toyota? (1.5 Marks) c) Did Toyota considered employees contribution? (1.5 Marks)
