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Toyota Case Study Originally known as Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA, TMMK was established in 1986 and is Toyota's largest manufacturing facility outside of Japan. It began production in the fall of 1988, building the 1989 model 4-cylinder Camry. In the beginning, the engines were shipped from Japan, however, an on-site engine plant was added in 1990.
Screening Process for Group and Team Leaders at Georgetown/KY
There is some advantage to starting a new plant. You get to start fresh. You get to select the most capable people possible for the jobs. You don't have any history to erase or change. There are disadvantages as well. There is a limited base of experience. The training needs are huge, and you might not end up with the right people for the jobs. Thus, everyone started fresh, but without the necessary skills. The selection of team and group leaders was so critical for the plant start-up that an extensive and specific selection process was developed. Toyota had committed to hiring manufacturing employees from within the state. Applications quickly poured in from across Kentucky, totalling over 100,000. To narrow this large pool of applicants to those who possessed the basic skill set, a series of filtering processes were used. Applicants participated in a general aptitude test, lasting about two hours, which was used as the first screening tool. A select group was advanced to the next level. Toyota was looking for both manufacturing and maintenance, "skilled trades" people, so those with a maintenance background were scheduled for the NOTCI (National Occupational Testing Institute) test, a written technical skills test lasting six hours, and they then proceeded down a parallel path to that of manufacturing candidates. The second major screening process was called a "day of work" - an eight hour assessment process that was facilitated and monitored by trained screeners. The focus for original canditates was to identify potential leaders, and the emphasis was on basic leadership skills. The "day of work" included individual activities, with the purpose of evaluating each candidate for a specific skill set. The skills included: - technical knowledge - technical skills and aptitude (use of basic tools) - problem solving - team membership (ability to function on a team) - team leadership (ability to lead a team) - critical thinking - communication skills (verbal and written) The top layer of candidates were skimmed off, to advance to the next step of the process, which was an additional leadership assessment. This assessment was eight-hours long. The activities were similar to those on the first day, but focused specifically on leadership. Those who did not make this cut were considered later for team members, or even team leaders. This advancing group was on the "fast track" because of the need to fill the group and team leader positions first. The skill set screened during this test were: - advanced problem solving (actual case example with written test) - training ability - organization skills and time management - facilitation skills (leading team activity) - team membership - individual leadership (a case example exercise) - team leadership - critical thinking - communication skills Finally, those who passed were scheduled for an interview. This was not an ordinary individual interview, but a group interview. Representatives from each manufacturing department reviewed canditate scores and applications, and those who were interested in a candidate participated in the interview. Skilled trades applicants who passed the NOCTI exam also completed the day-of-work assessments and were scheduled for additional specific practical tests, such as welding, electronics, electrical, hydraulic, abd pneumatic skills. These were actual hands-on tests to verify technical skills. The total time for this process was approximately 40 hours. Then, if Toyota was interested in making a job offer, a thorough physical and drug screen was done (another four hours!) prior to an actual commitment. Excerpt from 'The Toyota Way Fieldbook' by Jeffrey K. Liker and David Meier. Activity
Internet: http://www.toyotageorgetown.com/ http://www.nocti.org 1) How many cars and what models were built last year at the Toyota Georgetown/KY plant? 2) How does Toyota compare to the American Big Three? 3) What other car manufacturers have factories in the U.S. or Canada? 4) Go to NOCTI's home page and see what's their business and goal. 5) What do you think of Toyota's selection process? | |
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