Toyota's Lost Its Quality Edge? Not So Fast
02-08-10 | 05:01 AM
#1
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Toyota's Lost Its Quality Edge? Not So Fast
Signs of Strength
I personally have toured Toyota plants and been in their engineering offices in the past year. Unlike many competitors, Toyota had no involuntary layoffs through the recession and had enough extra people during the slowdown to focus intensely on quality and safety. In some plants, 40% of workers who were not needed for production were paid full-time to relearn its famous production system and attack problems in the plant with a vengeance.
In its Georgetown (Ky.) plant alone, Toyota reduced defects found in final inspection by more than 40%, thanks to the ideas of workers on the line. And this plant—which makes the Camry—was already producing some of the best quality in the country. In 2009, 10 of the coveted JD Power initial quality awards for the best vehicles in a segment went to Toyota or its Lexus unit—more than any other automaker.
I come away in awe every time I visit a Toyota facility. It does not do justice to the hundreds of thousands of people in Toyota engineering and manufacturing and the supply base to leap to conclusions based on such thin evidence. Clearly it's no small thing when a company shutters factories that produce its best-selling products. But it seems to me that the inferences about a wider quality problem at Toyota are not based on actual facts.
I personally have toured Toyota plants and been in their engineering offices in the past year. Unlike many competitors, Toyota had no involuntary layoffs through the recession and had enough extra people during the slowdown to focus intensely on quality and safety. In some plants, 40% of workers who were not needed for production were paid full-time to relearn its famous production system and attack problems in the plant with a vengeance.
In its Georgetown (Ky.) plant alone, Toyota reduced defects found in final inspection by more than 40%, thanks to the ideas of workers on the line. And this plant—which makes the Camry—was already producing some of the best quality in the country. In 2009, 10 of the coveted JD Power initial quality awards for the best vehicles in a segment went to Toyota or its Lexus unit—more than any other automaker.
I come away in awe every time I visit a Toyota facility. It does not do justice to the hundreds of thousands of people in Toyota engineering and manufacturing and the supply base to leap to conclusions based on such thin evidence. Clearly it's no small thing when a company shutters factories that produce its best-selling products. But it seems to me that the inferences about a wider quality problem at Toyota are not based on actual facts.
02-08-10 | 06:46 AM
#5
the current media flap on the recall is massively overblown of course, and toyota still has excellent quality from a 'lack of defects' perspective, but that's not the real problem. the real problem is that toyota's product line in the u.s. is boring, bland, and looks cheap compared to its competitors. it may be bolted and glued together well, but that's not the biggest problem.
02-08-10 | 07:38 AM
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indeed, there is this belief that Toyota intentionally let things go, which was obviously not true - if they only cared about saving money, they would not have retained all those workers and trained them to build better quality cars while everyone else gave theirs pink slips.
02-08-10 | 08:17 AM
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Good read, thanks for the article 
.
Millions of people who bought Toyotas last year disagree with you. Boring and bland is highly subjective firstly, and secondly boring and bland in many market segments is not a bad thing; rather it is a good thing because that appeals to a lot of the masses.
If you want all Toyota cars to offer exciting driving dynamics, and radical styling, then I doubt how well you understand the automotive industry.
.the current media flap on the recall is massively overblown of course, and toyota still has excellent quality from a 'lack of defects' perspective, but that's not the real problem. the real problem is that toyota's product line in the u.s. is boring, bland, and looks cheap compared to its competitors. it may be bolted and glued together well, but that's not the biggest problem.
If you want all Toyota cars to offer exciting driving dynamics, and radical styling, then I doubt how well you understand the automotive industry.
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02-08-10 | 08:27 AM
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I generally have to agree here with TRDFantasy. "Radical" styling can get to the point (as we, unfortunately, see in too many of today's vehicles) where function follows form, instead of it being the other way around, like, IMO, it should be. And, another point.......what is considered "normal" styling today (or even "bland") was often considered "radical" just a few years ago. That shows, IMO, that the industry is changing styling much too quickly, and restyling just for the sake of "change" itself, rather than for any real or useful reason. Perhaps the Chris Bangle BMWs are the most notable examples, but there are many others as well.
02-08-10 | 08:27 AM
#9
I think it all comes down to engineering.
If your workers assemble poor engineering, the outcome is still poor. Even if they can point out problems in production, the final product can still be compromised.
But if you engineer something very well, even if costs were cut, you can still come out with a great product. Hyundai knows this very well...
If your workers assemble poor engineering, the outcome is still poor. Even if they can point out problems in production, the final product can still be compromised.
But if you engineer something very well, even if costs were cut, you can still come out with a great product. Hyundai knows this very well...
02-08-10 | 08:46 AM
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I think it all comes down to engineering.
If your workers assemble poor engineering, the outcome is still poor. Even if they can point out problems in production, the final product can still be compromised.
But if you engineer something very well, even if costs were cut, you can still come out with a great product. Hyundai knows this very well...
If your workers assemble poor engineering, the outcome is still poor. Even if they can point out problems in production, the final product can still be compromised.
But if you engineer something very well, even if costs were cut, you can still come out with a great product. Hyundai knows this very well...
.Are you implying poor engineering is the case? I would highly doubt that. We still have no clear evidence that there are any engineering problems with the recalled Toyotas.
I think it's more a matter of rushed engineering without enough proper, real-world testing.
Poor engineering would result in many Toyotas experiencing major mechanical problems with the engine, transmission, suspension, driveshafts, and the list goes on and on. This is obviously not the case.
Here is another quote from the article specifically regarding engineering:
One of my PhD students just successfully defended a thesis on how most of the auto manufacturers, including Toyota, work with their suppliers. His data show Toyota is head and shoulders the best customer to work with on the technical details of designing, prototyping, and testing brakes.
Anyone who works in the industry and understands the industry well knows that Toyota's engineering is first-rate for the most part.
02-08-10 | 09:02 AM
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02-08-10 | 09:10 AM
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