Lean Manufacturing Excellence

1. Could you describe your career journey and how it led you to your current role at Toyota North America?

I began my career at Toyota over 32 years ago. I started on the production line putting steering wheels and doors on Toyota Camrys every 52 seconds. I know and understand the focus and mindfulness needed to be a productive team member in a lean manufacturing company. Those days of working long hours to produce a world class quality vehicle shaped me into the manager that I am today.

2. What are your primary roles and responsibilities as the plant production manager at Toyota North America?

Daily coaching and development of my team to achieve company initiatives, Drive 3 pillars and 5S engagement, the daily management and implementation of Hoshin-Kanri.

3. What are the most prevalent challenges in the manufacturing sector, particularly in production and maintenance, and what strategies do you suggest mitigating them?

I would say the attraction and retention of your work force. I believe every industry in America is dealing with this challenge, but I do believe the manufacturing sector has been impacted by the changes that came after the Covid epidemic. One way I suggest mitigating this concern is by having business partnering groups that can give team members a sense of belonging. Keeping an open ear for the concerns of your people and collaborating closely with them to address their concerns in a timely manner.

4. How have modern technologies influenced the manufacturing sector in recent years? Could you share specific examples of technologies that have significantly impacted Toyota North America?

Some of the modern technologies that impacted the manufacturing space are the use of Power BI and implementing strategies for direct communication with upper management team. We are currently using applications and QR codes to provide the opportunity to engage our team members. This can provide a direct linkage to human resources and upper management for our team members. Straw polls and surveys allow our management team to receive better feedbacks from our team members real time aid in making better decisions that directly impact our team members.

5. As the plant production manager, how do you improve safety, quality and productivity in a lean manufacturing environment?

My team works extremely hard to improve these key point indicators (KPI) daily. They do it through daily team member engagement. For the safety KPI my supervisors perform daily activity focused on a specific safety area of focus. They capture safety concerns, log them in our safety system and work with support groups to countermeasure the root cause. Regarding the quality KPI, my team performs regular process audits that focus on the standardized work and quality confirmation of their processes. Our overall quality strategy is to build in quality with ownership for each process.

Lastly, for the productivity KPI, my team leads weekly activities to perform machine care to prevent major breakdowns. They perform daily fault tracking to drive activity to minimize the equipment stops and process downtime. These activities can greatly impact your overall operation rate.

6. What advice would you offer to other senior leaders and CXOs on effectively navigating the complexities of the manufacturing sector?

The workforce has continued to evolve and change over the last few years. Your leadership style must change with it. Senior leaders must keep the channels of communication open to adjust to this changing workforce. Make sure you are providing opportunities for promotion, employee assisted education and ways for your team to connect using new technology. Good luck.