Quality of Toyota

Quality at Toyota

We learned in class that measures of activity performance come around three major dimensions: Efficiency, quality, and time. A product is said to have quality when it meets or exceeds our satisfaction. When we talk about quality, companies like Toyota come to mind. Toyota is well known for its quality edge. It’s a company that applies two base principles: continuous improvement and respect for people.

Toyota has a reputation of applying the Total Quality Management, Kanban and Kaizen (continues improvement) systems effectively as it follows rules. The following are some of the rules related to quality.

• Do not send defective products to the subsequent process

• Value-added and non-value-added work activities.

• Muda, which refers to seven classes of waste-overproduction, delay, transportation, processing inventory, wasted motion, and defective parts.

• Principles of material handling and use of one-piece flow.

• Documentation of standard operating procedures.

• The five S’s for workplace organization.

• Poka-yoke to prevent or detect errors.

• Team dynamics, which include problem solving, communication skills, and conflict resolution.

By following the above rules Toyota had become the quality wizard we trusted and loved. The above rules had put quite few resources on control costs in order to eliminate the failure costs. Toyota seems to follow the strategy for reducing quality costs as it takes direct attack on failure costs in an attempt to drive them to zero. 2) It invests in the right prevention activities to bring about improvements. 3) It reduces appraisal costs according to results achieved. 4) It continuously evaluates and redirects prevention efforts to gain further improvements. (Cost Accounting Book). Based on the text, prevention is always cheaper.

The last couple of years Toyota had experienced some major quality issues. It was hard to believe that a well build company like Toyota would be in this position....