Factory Tour - Cambridge, ON, Canada
08-02-11, 04:10 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Factory Tour - Cambridge, ON, Canada
Took a little trip to take the factory tour of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. Here are some random notes from the trip. Sorry there are no photos, as electronic devices are not permitted on the tour.
Let me begin by thanking Richard, John and the rest of the tour staff. Great sources of information, extremely friendly and welcoming. As this appeared to be true of many of the Toyota staff starting with the folks at the guard gate.
For a satellite view, Google Earth the location:
43°25'10.19"N
80°22'9.74"W
The entire mile square complex is surrounded by a dirt berm and chain-link fence making it difficult, if not impossible, to see much of the complex from the road surrounding the factory. So you can't see the new car parking lots, the test track or the train loading areas.
We entered via one of the entrance gates, parked in visitor parking and walked over to the guard gate, where we waited very briefly (yes we arrived early) for the tour staff to walk over from the visitors’ center. A bus load of students had also arrived to take the tour at the same time as my wife and me.
We were introduced to our two tour guides Richard and John. They showed us a brief video of the basic workings of the factory and then they went over the safety procedures for the plant.
We would wear a cotton smock to protect any our synthetic clothes from errant welding sparks, goggles for eye protection and a radio receiver headset to listen to audio during the tour.
After getting properly dressed, we headed to the factory floor for the tour. The factory is divided into North and South. North makes a variety of Toyotas and South makes the RX350.
Here are some facts as accurately as I can remember them. Forgive me Toyota if I misstate them.
In 1985, the first Mica Blue Corolla Sedan rolled off the assembly line. That treasured #1 car is on display in the visitors' centre. The visitors' centre opened in 1998 and in 2003 the first Lexus RX330 produced outside of Japan rolled off the line.
The plant has practiced Kaizen "change for the better" since the plant was first started. Known for rapid, continuous, improvement Kaizen has been practiced in many locations across the globe. The plant also uses "in time" assembly as nothing is built unless it has been ordered. No spare vehicles sitting around for speculative selling.
When manufacturing of the Lexus first started in Cambridge all the parts were flown in from Japan and an airplane arrived hourly delivering parts.
There are 65 Toyota production plants across the globe. Their goal is to build them where they sell them.
Because of the Tsunami in Japan, they had a one-week production shut down. However, workers would be continued to be paid and could either work on clean up at the factory or work within the community performing public service projects. Other than this period of time, there have not been any slow downs in seven years.
Getting employed did not sound easy. There are 3 - 4 interviews. They value additional education such as a college degree. You must have a minimum of a 12th grade education and be 18 years old.
Training is extensive and involves dexterity training too. Someone buffing out a Lexus must have recertification testing every three months. Buffing is done at a consistent pressure. Training would involve feedback watching a vernier on a scale. Testing involves consistently demonstrating that pressure with out looking at the scale.
This factory produces 200,000 cars per year.
It takes 17 1/2 hours to produce a Corolla. 7 1/2 half of those hours are in the paint "booth".
15 cars per day head out to the test track.
For everyone, but stamping, there is two shifts. Stamping runs three shifts to produce parts as extra parts for those of us who may suffer damage in car accidents.
Gauges, templates, patterns are very special and come from Japan and some are worth a million dollars.
Cleanliness, recycling and safety are top priorities. The air within the plant is run through a water-based scrubber. Recycling bins are everywhere for everything. Fork trucks, the tour tram and everything else (including bicycles) that moves around uses hand signals, horn honking and follows strictly painted paths on the floor. Automatic equipment follows tracings in the floor.
If something isn't quite right on the assembly line, music plays. It sticks out like a sore thumb in an industrial setting and is very noticeable. When I first heard it, I thought wow that radio is loud.
4,800 welds are inspected by machines or people on every car.
The Rav4 is built in a plant of 1.8 million square feet on an acreage of 1,000 acres. The Cambridge plant is 3 million square feet or 40 Canadian football fields.
Some casual observations:
The visitors' staff are great people and answered every question I had. During the tour it's difficult to ask questions as you're riding in a tram and the guide sits in the front car speaking into the radio transmitter.
The South plant, where the Lexus is built, is off limits except for very special visitors. Although we did get to see part of the body assembly line of the RX350.
The other special area is the paint booth. All the precautions you have heard about are true. You get a brief glance into the booth on the general tour. Clean room conditions pervail.
Quality is a priority. Random audits are performed and vehicles pulled out of the line for inspections. You see people touching the cars constantly. Rubbing their hands over the bodies and assemblies constantly. Opening and closing doors, trunks and whatever else making everything perfect. Gauges and micrometers used everywhere. Quality control stations scattered all over the plant.
Robots populate the welding lines. We even saw the famous Godzilla robot(s) that pick up assemblies and move them from one level of the factory to an upper level.
Doors are put on and fitted to the car prior to painting, then painted with the car body and then removed. Later the doors are matched up with the correct car to make sure all of the electronics (door locks) match up with the body.
They have won 8 J.D. Powers awards and deservedly are very proud of that fact. Many posters near the Lexus line express the desire for perfection and making the Lexus owners' experience the best possible.
We enjoyed the tour quite a bit. In fact, we took it twice.
Let me begin by thanking Richard, John and the rest of the tour staff. Great sources of information, extremely friendly and welcoming. As this appeared to be true of many of the Toyota staff starting with the folks at the guard gate.
For a satellite view, Google Earth the location:
43°25'10.19"N
80°22'9.74"W
The entire mile square complex is surrounded by a dirt berm and chain-link fence making it difficult, if not impossible, to see much of the complex from the road surrounding the factory. So you can't see the new car parking lots, the test track or the train loading areas.
We entered via one of the entrance gates, parked in visitor parking and walked over to the guard gate, where we waited very briefly (yes we arrived early) for the tour staff to walk over from the visitors’ center. A bus load of students had also arrived to take the tour at the same time as my wife and me.
We were introduced to our two tour guides Richard and John. They showed us a brief video of the basic workings of the factory and then they went over the safety procedures for the plant.
We would wear a cotton smock to protect any our synthetic clothes from errant welding sparks, goggles for eye protection and a radio receiver headset to listen to audio during the tour.
After getting properly dressed, we headed to the factory floor for the tour. The factory is divided into North and South. North makes a variety of Toyotas and South makes the RX350.
Here are some facts as accurately as I can remember them. Forgive me Toyota if I misstate them.
In 1985, the first Mica Blue Corolla Sedan rolled off the assembly line. That treasured #1 car is on display in the visitors' centre. The visitors' centre opened in 1998 and in 2003 the first Lexus RX330 produced outside of Japan rolled off the line.
The plant has practiced Kaizen "change for the better" since the plant was first started. Known for rapid, continuous, improvement Kaizen has been practiced in many locations across the globe. The plant also uses "in time" assembly as nothing is built unless it has been ordered. No spare vehicles sitting around for speculative selling.
When manufacturing of the Lexus first started in Cambridge all the parts were flown in from Japan and an airplane arrived hourly delivering parts.
There are 65 Toyota production plants across the globe. Their goal is to build them where they sell them.
Because of the Tsunami in Japan, they had a one-week production shut down. However, workers would be continued to be paid and could either work on clean up at the factory or work within the community performing public service projects. Other than this period of time, there have not been any slow downs in seven years.
Getting employed did not sound easy. There are 3 - 4 interviews. They value additional education such as a college degree. You must have a minimum of a 12th grade education and be 18 years old.
Training is extensive and involves dexterity training too. Someone buffing out a Lexus must have recertification testing every three months. Buffing is done at a consistent pressure. Training would involve feedback watching a vernier on a scale. Testing involves consistently demonstrating that pressure with out looking at the scale.
This factory produces 200,000 cars per year.
It takes 17 1/2 hours to produce a Corolla. 7 1/2 half of those hours are in the paint "booth".
15 cars per day head out to the test track.
For everyone, but stamping, there is two shifts. Stamping runs three shifts to produce parts as extra parts for those of us who may suffer damage in car accidents.
Gauges, templates, patterns are very special and come from Japan and some are worth a million dollars.
Cleanliness, recycling and safety are top priorities. The air within the plant is run through a water-based scrubber. Recycling bins are everywhere for everything. Fork trucks, the tour tram and everything else (including bicycles) that moves around uses hand signals, horn honking and follows strictly painted paths on the floor. Automatic equipment follows tracings in the floor.
If something isn't quite right on the assembly line, music plays. It sticks out like a sore thumb in an industrial setting and is very noticeable. When I first heard it, I thought wow that radio is loud.
4,800 welds are inspected by machines or people on every car.
The Rav4 is built in a plant of 1.8 million square feet on an acreage of 1,000 acres. The Cambridge plant is 3 million square feet or 40 Canadian football fields.
Some casual observations:
The visitors' staff are great people and answered every question I had. During the tour it's difficult to ask questions as you're riding in a tram and the guide sits in the front car speaking into the radio transmitter.
The South plant, where the Lexus is built, is off limits except for very special visitors. Although we did get to see part of the body assembly line of the RX350.
The other special area is the paint booth. All the precautions you have heard about are true. You get a brief glance into the booth on the general tour. Clean room conditions pervail.
Quality is a priority. Random audits are performed and vehicles pulled out of the line for inspections. You see people touching the cars constantly. Rubbing their hands over the bodies and assemblies constantly. Opening and closing doors, trunks and whatever else making everything perfect. Gauges and micrometers used everywhere. Quality control stations scattered all over the plant.
Robots populate the welding lines. We even saw the famous Godzilla robot(s) that pick up assemblies and move them from one level of the factory to an upper level.
Doors are put on and fitted to the car prior to painting, then painted with the car body and then removed. Later the doors are matched up with the correct car to make sure all of the electronics (door locks) match up with the body.
They have won 8 J.D. Powers awards and deservedly are very proud of that fact. Many posters near the Lexus line express the desire for perfection and making the Lexus owners' experience the best possible.
We enjoyed the tour quite a bit. In fact, we took it twice.
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Pancake (03-21-17)
08-02-11, 04:45 PM
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Wow david, great recollection of facts. Sounds like it was a blast. Someday I want to take a tour of the factory. Do you have to buy tickets in advance? What is the process one must take to get onto a tour?
If anyone is interested but cant make it, there was a great documentary on the discovery channel show, "factory made." It also shows Godzilla...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGdBdXbuQ20
If anyone is interested but cant make it, there was a great documentary on the discovery channel show, "factory made." It also shows Godzilla...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGdBdXbuQ20
08-02-11, 05:23 PM
#3
No, I don't play soccer!
David, thanks for your detailed account of the Cambridge plant tour. I felt like I was there That place is ginormous! Do you know how many people work there? How long was the tour?
I can remember when the RX started to roll out of Canada - September 2003 - the same month I got my 330 from Japan. There was only one issue I heard about on 2nd gens built up there related to the brakes. Compared to American manufacturers with their recalls, I'd say that's pretty damn good.
I'd like to take the tour too but only if we can go on the Lexus side. How about we all meet up north?
That place is ginormous! Do you know how many people work there? How long was the tour? I can remember when the RX started to roll out of Canada - September 2003 - the same month I got my 330 from Japan. There was only one issue I heard about on 2nd gens built up there related to the brakes. Compared to American manufacturers with their recalls, I'd say that's pretty damn good.
I'd like to take the tour too but only if we can go on the Lexus side. How about we all meet up north?
08-02-11, 05:48 PM
#5
Racer
Thread Starter
They allowed me to take a notebook, I wrote as fast as possible while watching in wonder. Hence, the two tours.
The tour is free. Visit their web page: http://www.visitcambridgeontario.com/Tours-Toyota.php
Tours are large (50 people or so) certain times of the year.
Tour is hour - hour and a half (too short) So much going on and the plant is huge and you see only a small portion. Everyone likes the robots. The stamping machine is huge. They were changing the stamp when we rode by during the second tour - ginormous hunk of metal and I bet they keep it in an equally gigantic vault!! Don't want any imperfections in that thing.
I'm gonna pester my sales person to find out how you get inside the Lexus plant. Something tells me it's for the multiple Lex owners or dealers.
The tour is free. Visit their web page: http://www.visitcambridgeontario.com/Tours-Toyota.php
Tours are large (50 people or so) certain times of the year.
Tour is hour - hour and a half (too short) So much going on and the plant is huge and you see only a small portion. Everyone likes the robots. The stamping machine is huge. They were changing the stamp when we rode by during the second tour - ginormous hunk of metal and I bet they keep it in an equally gigantic vault!! Don't want any imperfections in that thing.
I'm gonna pester my sales person to find out how you get inside the Lexus plant. Something tells me it's for the multiple Lex owners or dealers.
08-02-11, 05:58 PM
#6
Lexus Champion
They allowed me to take a notebook, I wrote as fast as possible while watching in wonder. Hence, the two tours.
The tour is free. Visit their web page: http://www.visitcambridgeontario.com/Tours-Toyota.php
Tours are large (50 people or so) certain times of the year.
Tour is hour - hour and a half (too short) So much going on and the plant is huge and you see only a small portion. Everyone likes the robots. The stamping machine is huge. They were changing the stamp when we rode by during the second tour - ginormous hunk of metal and I bet they keep it in an equally gigantic vault!! Don't want any imperfections in that thing.
I'm gonna pester my sales person to find out how you get inside the Lexus plant. Something tells me it's for the multiple Lex owners or dealers.
The tour is free. Visit their web page: http://www.visitcambridgeontario.com/Tours-Toyota.php
Tours are large (50 people or so) certain times of the year.
Tour is hour - hour and a half (too short) So much going on and the plant is huge and you see only a small portion. Everyone likes the robots. The stamping machine is huge. They were changing the stamp when we rode by during the second tour - ginormous hunk of metal and I bet they keep it in an equally gigantic vault!! Don't want any imperfections in that thing.
I'm gonna pester my sales person to find out how you get inside the Lexus plant. Something tells me it's for the multiple Lex owners or dealers.
Great write up. Makes me want to take the tour!
David, where do you live in IA? We're from Cedar Rapids, moved to Davenport and on to the Windy City (area).
08-02-11, 06:04 PM
#7
No, I don't play soccer!
Trending Topics
08-02-11, 06:23 PM
#8
Racer
Thread Starter
If you every owned a retread tire, the machine that made it came from here.
If you've ever purchased a watermelon, it may have come from here.
If you ever went to a U of I basketball game or stayed in the U of I hospital, the buildings are named after folks that live(d) here.
If you know the smell of ADM, you'll recognize GPC here.
Enough clues?
08-02-11, 07:39 PM
#9
Lexus Champion
If you every owned a filing cabinet it probably came from here.
If you every owned a retread tire, the machine that made it came from here.
If you've ever purchased a watermelon, it may have come from here.
If you ever went to a U of I basketball game or stayed in the U of I hospital, the buildings are named after folks that live(d) here.
If you know the smell of ADM, you'll recognize GPC here.
Enough clues?
If you every owned a retread tire, the machine that made it came from here.
If you've ever purchased a watermelon, it may have come from here.
If you ever went to a U of I basketball game or stayed in the U of I hospital, the buildings are named after folks that live(d) here.
If you know the smell of ADM, you'll recognize GPC here.
Enough clues?
08-03-11, 04:44 PM
#10
Racer
Thread Starter
08-03-11, 06:13 PM
#11
Lexus Champion
08-03-11, 08:24 PM
#12
David, it was fascinating reading about your tour of the Lexus/Toyota plant in Canada. I would love to take a tour of the place also. But I would mainly be interested in seeing the Lexus side of the plant, of course! I recall watching a video on the Lexus website of the details that go into building the RX350. It was very interesting.
08-04-11, 07:08 AM
#15
Racer
Thread Starter
I'm sure like many folks, I prepare for trips by arranging hotels, searching out restaurants and locate other attractions using eDestination and pre-load folders and destinations into the car. In addition to calling Mother Lexus while on the road to find other stops along the journey.
After leaving Cambridge, we were headed to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. We rarely have the navigation voice turned on. Well we headed out and knew we had some turns ahead. We switched the display to audio and was listening to satellite radio and broke out some chex mix (I know, I know, eating in a Lexus!). After a bit of driving and not paying attention, suddenly Toronto was ahead and I thought weren't we supposed to turn awhile ago? Switching on the map display, RX was trying to get us to make a legal u-turn, 10 miles back, okay 30 miles back, okay had been trying long time ago.
Anyway we got to enjoy traveling on the QEW, Queen Elizabeth Way for quite awhile that afternoon.
After leaving Cambridge, we were headed to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. We rarely have the navigation voice turned on. Well we headed out and knew we had some turns ahead. We switched the display to audio and was listening to satellite radio and broke out some chex mix (I know, I know, eating in a Lexus!). After a bit of driving and not paying attention, suddenly Toronto was ahead and I thought weren't we supposed to turn awhile ago? Switching on the map display, RX was trying to get us to make a legal u-turn, 10 miles back, okay 30 miles back, okay had been trying long time ago.
Anyway we got to enjoy traveling on the QEW, Queen Elizabeth Way for quite awhile that afternoon.