Should we still be praising Toyota?
In recent months the world’s best manufacturer (measured by year to year quality, market share gained, profitability, etc) has been much maligned. As a Tundra driver and long time student of the Toyota Production System I see the recent crisis concerning acceleration issues and injuries with the long term view. The investigations into who knew what and when, as well as how long it has taken them to respond will proceed. For the affected families who cannot be made whole, I hope the ensuing lawsuits will conclude with compensation and assurance that errors of this type will be prevented in future. In the mean time the Japanese manufacturer who has transformed the way thousands of businesses produce goods and services will continue to be demonized. But think about the way they have responded. Can you remember a manufacturer stepping up and taking responsibility this way; shutting down production, admitting culpability and apologizing before congress?? They even went direct to the people with ads stating little more than an intention to earn our trust once again.
Among the facts is that Toyota is unpopular because they are profitable making cars in North America with a largely non-union North American work force. Chief among the disappointments for our economy is this week’s closure of the great experiment in Fremont CA. The NUMMI plant, where GM and Toyota partnered to share best practices and learn how to make better cars in the US, is closing in the wake of GM’s bankruptcy. Last Saturday Les Pickering and I both listened to the NPR story of what was and could have been learned in this plant and across the auto industry. Whether you are a Big Three mogul or a small business owner your time will be well spent reviewing this cautionary tale.
Click here to read more about the closing of the NUMMI plant.