Operations Management in Toyota Lean Techniques - Case Study Example

Operations Management Toyota Lean Techniques Problem Solving Case Introduction Toyota Production System follows the fourteen principles of the Toyota Way that are grouped in several sections. The most notable of the Toyota Way are the sections pertaining to “The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results”, “People Development is Organization Development”, “Continuous Improvement drives Organizational Learning”. Most production related issues that impacts on high quality production volume including raw material issues can be answered by the Toyota Production System. The following problem can be resolved by using the principle enunciated by the Toyota Production System in a methodical and organized manner. Problem Statement Doug Friesen, is confronted by quality issues in the seat covers of the Toyota Camry production line. The following questions were posed with the hope of resolving this particular quality issues. The solutions provided herein in response to the questions follow the Toyota Production System. Discussion and Anlysis What immediate actions, in order of priority, should be taken to address the seat problem? The very first order of business is to find the root cause of the problem. The following are the process by which the root cause of the problem will be determined. Get as many samples of seats that failed the quality standards. This is to determine the kind and type of quality issues that is occurring. Another task is to get the quality and production statistics to determine the percentage of error that is occurring and its frequency. Install quality check processes at strategic points in the manufacturing process to determine if the quality issues occur as a result of one of the processes along the production line. Check if the seat cover’s storage facility is in accordance with the recommended storage environment. Determine if the specification of seat covers is of the correct specification as provided for by the design. Check the quality assurance process during delivery of the seats covers if the actual seat specification is thoroughly checked against the actual delivery. Whether the current TMM method for handling seat defects in assembly has been consistent with the philosophy of the Toyota Production System? Principle 2 – Create a process that will expose any problems to the surface. Principle 5 – Build a culture of “doing it right the first time” through the resolution of quality issues first before continuing the production line. Principle 6 – Standardize the production process to ensure an even quality. Principle 11 – Help the vendors improve themselves. Principle 12 – Go and see for yourself any problems that are occurring. Principle 14 – Build a learning organization As Doug Friesen, what would you do to address the seat problem? As Doug Friesen, The very first thing I will do is to determine the root cause of the problem. Following the process indicated above. Where would you focus your attention and in what priority? The focus will be on the seat cover’s quality as they were delivered. Then in the handling, that would include the process by which their quality is checked against the specification when they were delivered. Their storage environment against what has been recommended. Checking the process by which they are being handled as they are transferred for use in the production line. If the error or deficiency is found to have been in the delivery, corrective measures shall be implemented. If the quality issue has been determined to be occurring even before the delivery of the materials intensive investigation shall be conducted at the vendor. Changes in the vendor strategy shall also be implemented. Instead of relying on only one vendor the demand shall be split between several vendors to ensure that a single point of dependency do not exist. The second order of business is to determine if the quality issues happened during the production process. Quality checks shall be installed at every production steps from the time the seats was installed up to the time the final quality check is conducted to determine at which steps the quality issues is occurring. If the quality issue is occurring at the production line, the interims solution would be to rearrange the production process that will ensure that the installation of the seat cover is after the process that is causing the quality issues. In order to determine the final solution a root cause analysis of the problem at the task where the seat quality issue is occurring shall be conducted. Forthwith, the final solution shall be implemented as recommended by the result of the root cause analysis What are your alternatives? Which would you recommend? An alternative interim solution was to outsource the installation of the seat covers, being independent of the body of the car outsourcing the installation of the seat covers will not make an impact on any other installation of the car. By outsourcing the installation of the seat covers the quality as well as the raw materials can be defined and included in the outsourcing contract. Where, if at all, does the current routine for handling defective seats deviate from the principles of TPS? Studying the statistical data of the quality issues, to determine the root cause of the problem is a deviation of the TPS “see for yourself”. The statistical analysis will determine if the process is occurring at the production line and if it is prevalent along the production line after the seat has been installed. A consistent error (area and type of quality issue) indicates that the cause maybe singular. Quality issues that are random in the area where they are occurring indicates that the cause maybe at multiple points. A random type of quality issue indicates that the error could have occurred anywhere from the time the raw materials were formed up to the time they were inspected. What is the real problem facing Doug Friesen? Learning from the presentation the root cause of any quality issues along the production line discovered during the quality check at the end of any production line is the people. The people are not invested enough to care for quality discovered by any of the assembly line workers during production. Any quality issues normally have visible signs, the workers should not only be aware of the quality of work that they need to maintain, the workers should also be aware of any flaws or possible flaws. Juxtaposed to the Toyota Way, the workers should be invested enough to bring to the attention of their supervisors possible quality flaws that they have seen if stopping the assembly line seem to extreme for the workers. What do you believe to be the root cause? The attitude of the workers needs to be reassessed and reviewed for refocusing towards quality. The permissive culture towards defects that translate to quality issues later could be the root cause of the problem. A change in the corporate culture should be able to resolve any problem with quality. Alternatives and Decision What immediate actions in order of priority, should be taken to address the seat problem? Get the quality report and determine the impact of the quality issues. Depending on the number of defects and the result of the analysis that will determine in which particular process the defects occur, the decision to stop the line, slow it down or continue it will be established. If the quality of the seat is determined to be the vendor, alternative vendors can be used to supply the seat covers. The changes that I will recommend will only deviate from the TPS in so far as the use of multiple vendors. The use of multiple vendor limits if not eliminate the single point of failure of the entire production process. Different vendors will ensure that the vendor maintain the quality and religiously adhere to the specification and delivery of the seat covers. Another deviation is the use of an outsourcing company that will temporarily or permanently ensure the quality of the seat covers. Employing several outsourcing company will also ensure quality and eliminate the single point of failure in the production process. Conclusion The Toyota way and the Lean Production system have been very useful and successful to Toyota and to some other Japanese company. However, in other countries it may not be that successful. Some can argue it could be because of the culture of the country or its race but as heard over the presentation it is the attitude of the employees that makes the Toyota Production System and the Toyota way is what can make it successful. The culture of the company as set by the officers of the company can make a difference in the success of any company. Not only are the officers or leaders of the company responsible for the bottom line and the implementation of its business process to reach its business goals. It is also the responsibility of the officers or leaders of the company to set the right culture for the company. In some companies no matter what the race or country it is the leaders who set the example. The Toyota way can never succeed if the culture of the company is not receptive to the change. Bibliography: Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the worlds greatest manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill ISBN 0071392319. 9780071392310. Rother, M. (2009). Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results. New York: McGraw-Hill ISBN 978-0071635233. Read More