Toyota Georgetown Seats

The Just-In-Time principle for the Georgetown, KY Toyota facility should have been achievable, providing proper communication and training was established. I assume numerous areas of communication disconnects had been occurring for a period time. First, the team member who detected the problem acted properly and activated the andon cord to alert the team leader of the seat deficiency. A decision was made to tag the vehicle in order to notify QC further up the line. The deficiency was not communicated to the front and rear seat installers at the next two stations who continued to install the incorrect seats. Proper training of deciphering vehicle manifest cards to these team members should have activated the andon upon receipt of the vehicles at their respective stations. While the vehicles continued to travel down final assembly communication to the supplier should have been contacted to inform KFS of the type of deficiencies occurring at final assembly. Proper communication to the patrolling QA should have been initiated to assist in a solving a root cause though the “5 Why?” process. Communication of defects to the receiving dept should have been provided to educate personnel off-loading hardware of defects identified during final assembly. The case provided information that the receiving area for seats was barely big enough to hold and entire delivery. A kaizen may have been long overdue to improve handling of seats received to remove the possibility of defects induced at TMM. The area in receiving was tasking for the Camry sedan seats and now with addition of the Camry Wagons requiring additional space to stage seat kits. KFS had received a copy of the daily production plan; they (KFS) may have utilized the report to prepare for their own daily production. The case study noted the sequence was altered due to some cars needed to repeat certain loops of the paint process. It is understood by the writer that a manifest was initiated