Years Of Planning Deliver Top Quality For New Yaris

KEY POINTS

• Unprecedented strategy to ensure highest quality standards for new Yaris
• Quality planning initiated three years before start of production, a longer lead-in than for any previous Yaris
• Close and continuing collaboration with suppliers to ensure Toyota standards are maintained
• Actions based on Toyota’s guiding principle of kaizen – continuous improvement

Work to guarantee the built-in quality of new Yaris began years before the car reached the production line. Toyota has gone to unprecedented lengths to ensure the car meets more exacting quality standards than any of its predecessors, a strategy that has called for commitment from its own teams and the close co-operation of all its suppliers.

Yaris has been built by Toyota Motor Manufacturing France for the past 10 years and engineers from the Valenciennes factory were sent to Japan for up to 18 months to work on development of the new car, with the aim of identifying and tackling potential quality issues at an early stage. This work began three years before the start of production, 18 months earlier than for any previous Yaris.

Back at the factory, shop floor teams were involved in planning for a smooth transfer to production of the new car. All processes were scrutinised to ensure they could be carried out efficiently, with the attention to the design and function of jigs and tooling, accessibility and even the snap-fit sound made by some parts to indicate correct installation.

Delivering quality is of course not just about what Toyota itself can achieve, but depends also on every part used to make the car meeting the required standard. That goes for everything from critical electronics and braking systems to small plastic components and trims.
To achieve this, Toyota has works in close collaboration with its suppliers, making clear their requirements for new Yaris at an early stage and then supporting them with shared know-how and guidance on how they can adapt their processes and employee skills to deliver the quality needed, consistently in high volume production. This process is not limited to the pre-production period, but is a continuous process, aimed at reducing issues to a minimum.

Underpinning all these and other quality-focused activities is the fundamental Toyota principle of kaizen – continuous improvement – which will ultimately deliver better products and higher levels of customer satisfaction.

ENDS

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