Page 213 - Toyota Under Fire

TOYOT A UNDER FIRE

four consecutive weeks are dedicated to picking apart the vehicle
from every possible angle to identify issues that might cause cus-
tomers concern.
But that was not the only rededication to genchi genbutsu that
was required. The “go and see” philosophy is not just the idea
that the decision maker shows up and looks at the problem before
making a decision. It’s the idea that the decision maker is close
enough to the problem on a daily basis to make a good decision on
the best course for addressing it. In Toyota, this is phrased as the
gemba, or work site. Decision makers should be as close to the gemba
as possible. This includes not just physical proximity, but close famil-
iarity with the issues so that the individual can anticipate the con-
sequences of decisions and choices. For instance, that’s why Toyota
CSRs in the TMS call center are not scripted and have the author-
ity to spend significant sums resolving customer issues: they are
closest to the gemba. Thus, it’s not ideal for genchi genbutsu to be
carried out in the regions by personnel from headquarters in Japan.
The only way around this is to achieve the regional self-
reliance that Toyota had named as one of its major goals for North
America in Global Vision 2010, but had yet to fully accomplish.
Appointing regional chief quality officers was an important part
of this process, but it was by no means sufficient for the long
term. Regional product quality field offices were set up, so that
there is a strong regional engineering presence in each part of
North America. Each of the six centers has general responsibility
for investigating consumer issues and a particular technical spe-
cialty related to unique regional, geographical, or environmental
conditions in its area. For example, the New York regional office
was developed to investigate vehicle performance in cold-weather
climates. Overall, the goal of regional self-reliance is not indepen-
dence in the sense that regions function without any input from

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