I am fascinated with the current Toyota situation, as a former automotive engineer, a conflict expert and a long time student of a traditional Japanese martial art.
First of all, having been involved in the auto industry I’ve always been fascinated how well cars work when you consider how many people and processes all have to go ‘right’ when assembling a car. Thousands of people have some sort of input. The fact they actually run when they come off the assembly line is somewhat of a miracle.
‘Stuff’ happens and the more people involved the more likely more ’stuff’ happens.
When I was an automotive engineer we did something called DFME - Design Failure Mode Analysis. We looked at every dimension on every part and explored all possible problems if that dimension was not met. If something wasn’t right in manufacturing it was documented. We would never put something out that was suspect of a problem that would cause failure of a safety item. THAT WAS 25 YEARS AGO!
Toyota set a new standard since my involvement. There have been many books written to their quality standards and processes.
What happened?
I believe a combination of two things:
1. Toyota’s intention changed - their intention became one of world dominance…not the highest quality. Starbucks made a similar shift and found themselves in a hole.
2. Not willing to be transparent. When accidents happen; when people are dying the only right thing to do is be transparent immediately.
As a student of a traditional Japanese martial art…I am disappointed at the current culture of Toyota. Just move forward! Be transparent…don’t pretend to be perfect.
And that is all I have to say. Karen
Tags: conflict, engineering, Toyota, transparency
