TOYOTA

MOTOR
MANUFACTURING
SEAT PROBLEM
SYPNOSIS
On May 1, 1992, Doug Friesen, manager of
assembly at the TMM's Georgetown, Kentucky
plant, is concerned about problems with seat
installation and wonders how to best resolve
them and to which he should give highest
priority. With sales approaching plant capacity, it
is crucial he choose the most effective path in
light of Toyota Production System (TPS) and the
realities of plant organization.
QUESTION 1
As Doug Friesen, what
would you do to address the
seat problem? Where would
you focus your attention
and solution efforts?
ANSWER
As Doug Friesen, I will focus my attention on how the
seat problem is currently being handled. I need to
assess if the process used in solving the problem is the
best method since it does not follow the TPS method of
stopping production when a problem arises, figuring out
the causes, fixing the defects and preventing it from
happening again. After that, I will investigate why there
are cars sitting in the overflow lot for so long.

Lastly, I will also look into other problems caused by

cross-threading during installation of seats, breaking off
the hook, and the delivery of wrong and poor quality
seats by Kentucky Framed Seats (KFS).
QUESTION 2
What options exist?
What would you recommend?
Why?
ANSWER
The following are the solutions to the seat issue:
• Friesen could consider looking into KFS’s production process.
They should work with KFS to ensure that KFS does quality
checks before sending out wrong and poor quality seats.
Also, Friesen could look for another supplier to supplement
the seats that KFS can’t produce fast enough.
• Adjust the assembly team. He should determine the
processes that need to be changed or improved. A training or
seminar should be given to his employees. This is to ensure
smooth, efficient, and productive operations.
• Redesign the seat or think of other solutions to solve the
problem of breaking hooks.
• Rework the off-line process. Something needs to be done to
reduce the number of cars in the overflow lot waiting for
new seats. They should inform their supplier about the seats
needed as soon as possible.
QUESTION 3
Where, if at all, does the
current routine for handling
defective seats deviate from
the principles of TPS?
ANSWER
The theme behind TPS is to eliminate all waste to
reduce costs. It relies on two methods which are
Just-In-Time (JIT) and Jidoka. The current routine
for handling defective seats doesn’t fall to any of
these methods.

a) Jidoka is the stopping of production when a

problem emerges and fixing it then and there. But
i n t h e c a s e of t h e d e fec t i ve s e a t p r o b l e m ,
production was not suspended and the automobile
passed through the assembly line with defective
seats.
ANSWER
b) JIT means new parts are produced only when
needed so it was anticipated to reduce waste and
inventory. But in order to handle defective seats,
cars were transferred to an overflow parking lot
where seat replacement was performed, resulting
in an increase in inventory and waste. Second,
chairs with no flaws were not manufactured at a
time when they were required.

- These variations occurred because the

manufacturing team realized that suspending
production was too expensive and that the
automobile could be finished without seats.
QUESTION 4
What is the real problem
facing Doug Friesen?
ANSWER
The real problem facing Mr. Friesen is the fact
that cars with seat problems are sitting in the
overflow lot way too long, which means that the
run ratio has dropped from 95% to 85%. Thus
t h e r e a p p e a r s to b e a p r o b l e m w i t h t h e
handling of cars through the off-line process. Mr.
Friesen needs to determine whether the cause
of increase in the number of cars sitting in the
overflow lot is caused by the process used for
defective and damaged seats, the overall off-
line process, or the supplier's ability to meet
TMM USA needs.
THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING!
GROUP MEMBERS:
Acdal, Gwyneth
Benito, Christine
Bartolome, Angeline
Caronan, Bunnie
Donato, Mackenzie
Vergel, Jenny
 REFERENCE:
https://studymoose.com/toy
ota-motor-manufacturing-
case-main-and-sub-ideas-
essay
DOCUMENTATION: