“I am deeply sorry,” said Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp. as he prepared to testify before the US Congress last week. A recent spate of recalls made by the world’s largest auto maker has cast a giant shadow over the company’s hard-earned reputation for quality. It’s back to basics at Toyota, declared Mr. Toyoda, after what he described as a humbling experience that has prompted “fundamental changes in the way Toyota does business.”
First, he said they would take care of vehicles on the road today, even while they commit to making “even safer vehicles in the future.”
Emphasizing his personal involvement and commitment, Mr. Toyoda said further: “All Toyota vehicles bear my name. When cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I love cars, and I take the utmost pleasure in offering vehicles that our customers love. I, more than anyone, want Toyota cars to be safe, and for our customers to feel safe when they drive our vehicles.”
Members of the US Congress rained down criticism on the self-effacing Toyota CEO. A congresswoman from a Michigan district where a fatality in a Toyota car crash lived pointedly told Mr. Toyoda: “Never again use the excuse (that) it is driver error.” She said witnesses saw a 76-year old woman driver looking like she was half-standing, her hands on the steering wheel, before the car spun out of control and crashed into a tree.
Unintended acceleration and faulty braking were the two defects that prompted the massive recall of an estimated 8 million Toyota cars in the US. Toyota’s technical response is to install brake override systems to address electronic throttle malfunction problem. Mr. Toyoda said that a “new Smart Pedal braking system will cut engine power when the accelerator and brake pedals are both engaged.
Toyota has also announced that it will install a black box reader similar to the function performed by a black box in an airplane that enables safety investigators to pinpoint causes of accidents.
In the hearing, Mr. Toyoda also answered in the affirmative when asked if his company was willing to fully disclose to the US government all Toyota vehicle malfunctions reported globally.
Despite asserting that Toyota remained committed to its reputation for a quality culture of “doing the right things right the first time and every time”, Mr. Toyoda admitted: “Yet it is clear to me that in recent years we didn’t listen as carefully as we should --- or respond as quickly as we must --- to our customers’ concerns. While we investigated malfunctions in good faith, we focused too narrowly on technical issues without taking full account of how our customers use their vehicles.” Thus, he also committed that, in response to the US representatives’ concerns, “Toyota will emphasize US culture and customs” more intently as the company endeavors to overcome its biggest confidence challenge.
Mr. Toyoda introspected, “I fear the pace at which we have grown was too quick.” As a consequence, he acknowledged that “the development of (our) people may not have kept pace.”
The twin pillars of Toyota’s philosophy of doing business are kaizen (continuous improvement) and respect for people.
In 2008, I was invited by Toyota Motor Philippines to an “immersion” in the key facets of company operations. I had wanted to validate the principles of Toyota’s management system after reading the book, Toyota Culture by Jeffrey Liker & Michael Hoseus (NY: Random House, 2008).
I am pleased to share three significant “Aha!” or discovery experiences that I had in the course of my immersion. The first was in the quality control process and the second was in the safety program.
The quality control process particularly impressed me. Kaizen (Japanese term for Continuous Improvement) is the byword or mantra of quality control. Every individual employee is responsible for kaizen. Attainment of objectives is a willful, purposive process that is driven by every team member’s conscious intention to contribute to a unified effort that delivers desired outcomes.
I asked the QC supervisor: “What if the individual employee has no more ideas, or has simply run out of suggestions for improving the process?”
He replied immediately: “That does not happen because they have become accustomed to giving suggestions for improvement such that the practice has become a habit, or we might even say, a discipline. They have become very earnest in seeking or creating better processes.”
It made me aware that, indeed, the entire Toyota Way, is person-centered. It is founded upon the belief that every team member is a valuable contributor to the attainment of the collective goals. It is anchored on the proposition that Continuous Improvement is, in essence, rooted on respect for people. Thus, there is fusion in the twin elements of the Toyota Way.
My second ‘Aha!’ experience related to the safety program. At the entrance of TMP’s Assembly plant in Sta. Rosa Laguna is a green, rubberized, wrap-around Safety Gate. During the anniversary day program that was participated in by TMP’s 2,000-plus people, TMP President Ito announced the creation of a company-wide Safety Committee with himself as the Chairman.
At the Toyota Assembly plant, concern for safety is palpable and highly evident. People walk only in clearly designated walking lanes at the outer edges of the plant floor. Fork lifts and other vehicles that move on the factory floor observe a heightened sense of traffic discipline. Even during lunch break, team members observe the walking lanes and do not break out into the vehicle passage lanes. They take their time to walk and do not rush or shove.
At the assembly line, there is the legendary practice of allowing even the lowest-ranking employee to stop the entire production process if an incorrect or unsafe incident is noted. When I was ushered into the painting booth, I needed to observe strict procedures of safety: wearing proper shoes and attire and also staying only within the designated space.
As it deals with a major crisis, Toyota Motor Company is once again mining a tremendous wealth of experience for further improving its system of managing operations and people.
Readers may send their comments to sonnycoloma@gmail.com
