Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) on Monday said it would start studying an assessment of its quality assurance review and improvement measures prepared by an outside group – the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) which specialises in quality control – plus four JUSE-recommended experts.
The assessment focuses on the measures adopted at the first meeting of TMC’s special committee for global quality, held on 30 March and chaired by TMC president Akio Toyoda.
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At the second meeting scheduled for October, TMC plans to review the status of the quality assurance improvement measures it has undertaken, including those based on the assessment.
The group has evaluated measures taken by Toyota following issues that included floor mat interference with accelerator pedals, accelerator pedals that were slow to return to their non-depressed position and an ABS software-related defect in the Prius braking system.
“The measures described for us are convincing, and they promise to yield solid results if implemented as described,” JUSE said.
It said the plans showed promise. These included opgraded capabilities for gathering and analysing customer relationship information at overseas operations and for gleaning useful information from customer complaints submitted to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
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By GlobalDataExpanded and upgraded networks of technical offices to respond more quickly in conducting onsite investigations of reports of serious quality issues (Toyota’s so-called SMART activities, an acronym for Swift Market Analysis and Response Team).
Unified design responsibility for crucial components, such as accelerator pedals, in single divisions (instead of spreading that responsibility across multiple divisions, as previously) and establishing an autonomous division to spearhead improvements in design quality, including measures for reflecting customer input in design standards.
Customer First training centres established at five sites worldwide to cultivate quality assurance professionals and to ensure the retention of pertinent skills and technology across generations.
JUSE said it had requested further improvements: Analysing each serious accident and each serious customer complaint thoroughly and translating the analytical findings into concrete measures for preventing the recurrence of the problems in question and for preventing the occurrence of similar problems.
Collaboration between Toyota’s quality-related divisions and its legal division: employ information from the legal division in combination with customer relationship information and NHTSA’s customer complaints information in analysing accidents.
Developing and applying criteria for gauging the attainment of trainees at the Customer First training centres.
Deploying even more field personnel than Toyota’s present plans call for and providing training to equip the field personnel to function effectively from a customer perspective.
Developing and applying criteria for evaluating suppliers in regard to management expertise and implicit risk, as well as technical capabilities.
Supplementing Toyota’s measures for obtaining input from third-party experts in so-called “design reviews based on failure mode” with measures for securing input from the company’s after-sales service people, who deal directly with customers; adopting measures to upgrade the management of design revisions from the standpoint of preventing quality issues.
Stepping up training for dealers’ maintenance and repair personnel to prevent problems; for example, floor mat interference with accelerator pedals.
JUSE also commented on new Toyota measures for ensuring effective internal and external communication when serious quality issues have occurred following criticism connected with recent recalls.
It said new measures were “notably promising” in regard to stepping up communication with the mass media and with other external audiences, mobilising task forces under the leadership of executive vice presidents, establishing the BR (business reform) communication Kaizen department to spearhead improvements in communication, and setting up the Special Committee for Global Quality and strengthening regional operations’ capabilities and authority for responding promptly to quality concerns.
“However, ensuring lasting improvements in crisis-management communication will depend on accompanying the measures with workplace procedures and mechanisms for fulfilling their goals. Especially pressing is the need for establishing guidelines to steer crisis-management activity by the president and other members of senior management and for monitoring the effectiveness of those guidelines on a continuing basis. Also pressing is the need for bridging the culture gap between Japan and other nations in public relations activities and for strengthening Toyota’s locally based capabilities for handling media relations in each principal region,” JUSE said.
See also: COMMENT: Toyota’s lessons to be learned
