Toyota Motor Manufacturing

Doug Friesen should try to gather as much information as he can to determine where the problem lays. I would interview the workers in the assembly line and try to get details into why they think the seats are ending up defective. Talk to Kentucky Framed Seat (KFS) to see if any problems exist in having to adjust to the added seat variations. Perhaps there is something Toyota Motor Manufacturing, USA (TMM) could help KFS in meeting the seat demands more efficiently. The coordination and keeping the lines of communication open between both companies will be crucial in fixing this problem.

The fact that cars are waiting for replacement seats for four days even though KFS responds to defective seats by sending replacements twice a week tells us there is a communication problem by TMM or a production problem with KFS. Friesen should focus in this problem since this seems the most imminent problem. Find out if TMM is communicating defective seats in a timely manner or is KFS lagging behind in delivering the replacement. Or simply there are too many seats to fix.

This brings coordination into question. Friesen should review communication protocols with his teams. Problems that can't be fixed in the assembly line should be sent to the clinic for evaluation. If they can't be fixed then it should be sent to the overflow parking. There should not be any delay requesting a replacement seat by TMM.

Friesen should coordinate with KFS and try to improve the quality of the seats through redesign and increase the delivery of replacement seats from twice a week to every day till KFS quality improves dramatically. This should be done while simultaneously reviewing communication protocols in the assembly line. This temporary solution should at least keep the cars moving out of the assembly plant into the dealers at a faster rate.

Options available to Friesen are to help KFS improve their efficiency in producing quality seats, expanding their deliveries of replacement seats, have TMM produce the seats themselves and or finding a new supplier that could meet TMM quality requirements. Another option is to improve installation of the seats. The case does not state that the seats arrive defective. It mentions occasions were the installation happens to be the problem. Another possible option available to Friesen is to reorganize and or train the team that installs the seats. If the seats are to be fixed outside the assembly line than