In the spirit of YOKOTEN or idea sharing, twenty-five personnel from TMH and seven TMH dealers from across the U.S., gathered in Elk Grove, Illinois, at the Atlas Toyota headquarters. Their focus was to develop standardized service work planned maintenance processes for three high-volume electric Toyota models. The overall goal of the 4-day workshop: Gather a diverse team to provide input and ideas. Collaborate to create standardized processes Share best practices Use experience and knowledge to kaizen the existing process Enhance Improved workflow Class I – III Model Focus: 8BNCU20, 8HBW30 & 8BPU15 The first order of business of the workshop was to review and update the Toyota Material Handling Field Service Manual Steps and Sheets. The focus was on the maintenance: Sequence Operational Steps Document work with Pictures Document the Tools for the task Key Points of the work for the customer (Why and what happens if not completed) Results The group broke off into three different teams for each model and reviewed the Toyota service manual for maintenance information, periodic maintenance chart as well as the service manual maintenance processes. In the spirit of Genchi Genbutsu, the team went out onto the shop floor and worked three reiterative maintenance work processes for each model. They used the kaizen philosophy to improve both the overall service workflow as well as each model's checklist. The different teams also gathered information and placed it into a Master PM sheet. It also allowed the teams to focus on determining the best tools to do the job. They then worked to minimize the technician’s movement while optimizing the time to complete a thoroughly planned maintenance service by establishing a baseline for the number of “steps,” “bends,” and “kneels” performed during the processes. These, in addition to the overall time taken to perform the service, improved significantly. Lessons learned during the workshop: Process focused rather than develop a PM program. The basics of TPS can be applied to any process. If you have a good system, the work takes care of itself. The sum of many simple improvements can have a significant impact. Reviewing a process step by step is much easier to improve rather than the whole job. An improved process can be taught much easier than 170+ inspection items. Standards are established and Improvements can be implemented In terms of feedback, the workshop was very well received by both the Dealer and TMH participants. Dave Andrewes, the Welch Operation Manager, shared, “This process will allow our Dealership to work faster, smarter, better, and safer. There are very few initiatives that allow for all of these important factors. It is a win-win for our Dealership and our customers.” Danielle Woodfint, TMH Aftermarket manager, stated, “The collaboration of individuals who, otherwise, may never have met is an exciting thing to witness. I was surprised something like this didn't exist already and happy to see the team complete three much needed SOPs.” Kevin Sweet, VP Operations from Atlas, was very positive. “I think this was a valuable process in training new and existing technicians.” Alex Kelley, the Technical Certified Trainer from Toyota Material Handling Solutions (Atlanta), summed up the week “Overall, I think this was a very beneficial process for all involved and will be great teaching tools for various departments.” Finally, all the dealers on the team agreed it would be a good idea to get together in 2022 to make any additions or edits to their work to date as well as potentially focus on additional models. TMH Dealer participants: Rod Barningham, Steve Smith, John Bailey, Dave Andrews, Kevin Sweet, Chad Schiebler, Dave McGary, Alexander Kelly, Antonia Raigoza, Mark Benedetto, Deci Carrera Bryan Runyan, and Chris Webb. TMH participants: Steve Dolphin, Neil Jenner, Allen Crawford, Barry Bonner, Danielle Woodfint, Danny Olson, Eddie Travis; Fred Williams, Greg Bowman, Jeff Beck, Mark McKinley, Scott Morris, Scott Ruiter;& Trey Barber. Special Thanks to Atlas for hosting the workshop and all the TMH dealers involved: If you are interested in learning more about this Dealer best practices or have one of your own you would like to share, please reach out to Trey Barber or Mike Parker with the TMH Dealer Development team at Trey.Barber@toyotatmh.com or Michael.Parker@toyotatmh.com .
TMH & Dealers Develop Standardized Service Work Processes
