Toyota Motor Corporation

The Toyota Motor Corporation is the largest vehicle manufacture in the world by overall sales. Headquartered in Japan, this multinational corporation was founded in 1937 as a spinoff company of the Toyota industries. The Toyota Corporation also provides other services in
addition to the manufacture of automobiles. The company provides financial services and builds robots. The Toyota management philosophy reflects its core values and business methods generally referred to as the Toyota Way. The Toyota Way encourages long-term thinking and focus on solving a problem from its root because only this drives an organization forward.
Company Report
The Toyota Company employs a production system that is geared towards eliminating any waste in the entire production system. This production system utilizes the most efficient methods in two main aspects. These aspects include the lean manufacturing system and the just-in-time (JIT) system. The production system has developed through many years of continuous improvement with the objective of producing cars in the quickest most efficient way. The purpose is to deliver a customers order within the shortest time possible. Each of the aspects in the production system is based on two main concepts. The first is jidoka, which translates into automation with a human touch. The Toyota Production System (TPS) comprises mainly of robotic systems that produce the vehicles with minimum human intervention. However, the system is designed to stop the production process if a problem occurs in the production line. The second concept employed by the TPS is the Just-In-Time. This means the system produces only what is needed by the next process in the production line. Based on these two concepts, Toyota produces quality cars that meet customers expectations within a very short time.
The TPS is designed to ensure that quality is built in the manufacturing process. Computers continuously monitor the system for any malfunction or defective parts. If any defective part is discovered, the production line automatically stops and the operators identify and rectify the problem. The jikoda ensures that only parts that satisfy a predetermined quality standard proceed to the next step in the production process. Because the computers continuously monitor the production line and halt production when a malfunction or defective part is discovered, the operators can confidently continue attending to other machines in the production line. The jikoda ensures high productivity because one operator is in charge of many machines.
The TPS only produces what is needed, when it is needed, and in the amount needed. This is possible because the production system eliminates waste, inconsistencies, and unreasonable requirements. The TPS is time conscious and employs a strict schedule to ensure consistent results every time. When a customer places an order for a vehicle, the order is delivered to the operator responsible for the first process in the production line within the shortest time possible. The assembly line is stocked with a specific number of the parts required to assembly any type of vehicle in the Toyota catalogue. Any of the parts used in the assembling of a vehicle are replaced from the preceding step in the production process. Each preceding process must therefore stock a minimum number of the parts produced by the process.
Conclusion
The Toyota Corporation uses the most advanced technology in its production techniques, however, as the company focuses on meeting customer demands within the shortest time possible, more often than not quality is sacrificed. Although the company is very innovative, which is evident in their site (www.toyota-global.com), they must continuous improve their human resource and robotic technologies to avoid events like the recent recall of Toyota cars in the United States and other parts of the world.