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Storage unit boosts Toyota's continuous improvement
Kaizen is a Japanese term that means continuous improvement. More than just a snappy catch phrase or a motivational mantra, Kaizen is a tangible process that has helped Toyota become one of the world’s premier automobile companies. It is a corporate-wide operating philosophy that Toyota Motor Corporation has adopted, especially in its global production facilities.
This philosophy is seamlessly integrated into myriad manufacturing and production processes and has helped Toyota to become the “Total Mobility Provider.” It enables Toyota to realize a plethora of concrete benefits: decreased labor costs, increased productivity, and enhanced product quality, to name a few.
Kaizen is very evident at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) in Georgetown, Ky., a $5-billion automotive complex that is now Toyota’s largest production facility outside of Japan. This technically advanced, 1,300-acre site, boasting a total facility size of 7.5 million square feet and employing more than 7,000 workers, produces axles, steering components, machined blocks, cylinder heads, crankshafts, camshafts, rods and axle assemblies.
Production capacity is 500,000 vehicles per year, along with 500,000 engines per year, including two of Toyota’s most popular models, the Camry and the Avalon, and soon, the Sienna minivan.
Kaizen, in fact, was the guiding principle behind the creation of the General Stores at TMMK. The General Stores is centrally located in the facility’s main production area, and is the small parts hub for all of TMMK’s production divisions. Parts for all of the facility’s operations – which include stamping, die manufacturing, paint, plastics, assembly, engine/axle machining and assembly – are maintained in the General Stores.
When a particular department receives specifications for a process, the necessary parts for the process are ordered from the General Stores. The parts are then transported to the specific departments for easy accessibility. This operational system keeps things orderly and efficient.
Nowhere are these qualities more crucial than in the body weld shop, which features about 8,000 pieces of equipment and incorporates more than 1,200 production processes.
Workers in the shop take panels from stamping and components from vendors, and assemble the car from the ground up. Given that there are approximately 40,000 parts – including various industrial electronics, robotics components, shunts, shanks, adaptors and circuit boards – it was critical that the parts storage system be highly organized in order to facilitate quick and accurate parts retrieval.
“The previous storage system, which consisted of a network of open shelving, had a number of drawbacks," said John Raymer, body weld maintenance manager. "It was disorganized, inflexible, not aesthetically pleasing, and the shelf cart application it was used for had to be line-ready for repairs.
“Sensitive electronic parts were stored in open shelving, where they were exposed to the internal environment, including dust and particulate matter, which could lead to malfunctions," he said. "Ultimately, because the open drawers and shelves were fixed, they offered no configurability.”
In his quest for continuous improvement, Raymer wanted to tighten control over parts coming into the department and take responsibility for setting up parts internally.
“To do that, we needed a portable, mobile system with built-in flexibility that we didn’t have to modify ourselves," said Raymer. "This system would accommodate a constantly changing body shop that could be retooled with smaller and more complex line parts.”
Based on a strong recommendation from Kentucky-based, Neill-LaVielle Supply Company LLC – a nationwide distributor of industrial supplies – TMMK turned to Lista International Corporation. Headquartered in Holliston, Mass., Lista designs and manufactures innovative, efficient, modular storage systems, including cabinets, industrial and technical workbenches, Storage Wall Systems and other custom solutions.
Upon assessing TMMK’s specific storage needs, Lista recommended its Shelf Converter Drawer System, a freestanding system of modular drawers set in a pre-assembled frame. The Shelf Converter Drawer System easily inserts into existing standard shelving, delivering all of the benefits of modular drawer storage: improved organization, space utilization, ease of access and improved aesthetics. Its innovative design would transform TMMK’s open shelving into an efficient system for maximum organization of small parts and tools and more efficient use of cubic space.
Lista’s Shelf Converter Drawer System sits directly in TMMK’s pre-existing shelves, providing fast, easy installation – a huge benefit to TMMK. TMMK is also enjoying the space savings created by having the drawers mounted inside the shelving units. Plus, electronic parts are now stored in an enclosed space and protected from the environment.
Besides their obvious functionality, the new Lista Shelf Converter Drawer System offered TMMK an opportunity to retrofit new storage equipment with existing shelving units, which was a major cost-savings benefit.
“We’re always looking for ways to incorporate the old and the new,” said Raymer. “With the Shelf Converter Drawer System, we avoided the expense of replacing our current shelving. These units have been a tremendous value, even more so when you take into consideration the decreased labor costs and increased productivity that they have led to.
“We have two different areas of stores: subcomponent parts using the Shelf Converter Drawer System, and another area for warehouse storage of heavy machinery and robot tooling, and electrical motors," said Raymer. "We can maintain all similar components in one area. People can find a part far more easily in the area with similar components, rather than having to comb through a warehouse full of parts.”
“In fact, from an efficiency perspective, we’ve found that it is approximately 15 percent to 50 percent easier to find a part instead of hunting through the entire inventory," he said. "Moreover, we have established a labeling system for parts identification which greatly enhances the storage system’s performance. Lista’s Shelf Converter Drawers extend 100 percent, giving us easy access to all parts in the drawer. The drawer handles have label holders that allow us easy identification of parts, while enhancing inventory control.”
Because of the increased organization and efficiency, employees can quickly retrieve items, thereby reducing foot traffic in the production area and increasing overall safety. The Shelf Converter Drawer System has greatly improved TMMK’s ability to meet overall production schedules.
Raymer is confident that Lista’s Shelf Converter Drawer System will accommodate TMMK’s ever-changing and ever-expanding inventory. And the concept of Kaizen will continue to flourish.
“Our storage system has not only improved the parts storage and retrieval situation itself, it has had a significant ripple effect on many other aspects of our business as well,” Raymer said.
That’s the true meaning of Kaizen.
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