New designers and return to prototypes aids in quality

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TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -(Dow Jones)- Three years ago, Toyota Motor Co. (TM) found itself with a quality-control problem. The auto maker was recalling vehicles and fending off speculation that its growth ambitions were hurting product performance.
That has changed since Toyota integrated a customer program that led to the hiring of more engineers and a return to building more prototypes instead of relying on computer simulations.
The emphasis on quality is critical these days as a constricting and changing market in the U.S. is pushing companies like never before to build products that meet their new standards. Consumers, awash in technology that is designed to never break down while offering cool features, now expect that same delivery in their vehicles.
For Toyota, which has leveraged its product performance to win over U.S. consumers, internal changes have helped the auto maker clean up its act.
"We hired engineers that just focus on quality," said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager for the Toyota division at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A . "We went back to doing some prototypes just to verify the real world experience. We learned the computer simulation, while extremely valuable, is no substitute from building a prototype and getting behind the wheel and driving it 100,000 miles."
Carter said that, overall, Toyota and other auto makers are beginning to move away from the focus on trying to cut production time just to be first with a new product.
"Seven years ago, you came to a conference like this and everybody was talking (about) expediting development times. You don't hear that today," Carter said on the sidelines of the Center of the Automotive Research Management Briefing in Traverse City, Mich.
"Everyone is realizing that you have to make sure that what the customer gets is what he sees. There will a focus to be first at market but not at the expense of being best in market," he added.
Perception of quality is also being pushed out to dealers. The auto maker has no plans to expand its network of 1,283 but has asked that they improve their location by adding more service bays to cut customer wait time. The Detroit auto makers are all trying to reduce their dealer networks by weeding out underperformers and supporting more profitable businesses.
"Over the past 36 months, our dealers have invested a combined $1 billion collectively of their own to redo their dealerships," Carter said. "They are adding more customer parking and some are even running their service bays 24 hours a day. If you have a Camry, you should not have to wait a couple of weeks to get an oil change."

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