Section 3. Recommitment to Quality

Item 2. Restoring Confidence

Special Committee for Global Quality Implements Reinforced Measures

The Special Committee for Global Quality held its first meeting on March 30, 2010 at the Head Office Quality Audit Building. Committee chair President Toyoda, TMC executives, representatives of all corporate functions and the chief quality officers (CQOs) appointed to relay the concerns of customers in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, attended. The initial portion of the meeting was opened to the media, and the results of the discussions were announced.

The committee focused its discussions on reinforcing measures from the customer’s perspective. The committee decided to strengthen improvement activities in the following five areas.1

  1. 1.Decisions on recalls and other market measures
  2. 2.Strengthening information gathering
  3. 3.Timely and accurate information disclosure
  4. 4.Enhanced product safety and peace of mind
  5. 5.Human resources development

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1
Details concerning the reinforcement of measures from the customer’s perspective confirmed by the Special Committee for Global Quality are as follows.
1) Decisions on recalls and other market measures
-We will create systems in which persons responsible for vehicle quality in each region will not only listen to customer opinions, but participate in decision-making on recalls and other market measures by the global headquarters and create systems for reliably reflecting customer opinions and regional ideas in recall and other market decisions.
-Regional CQO teams and persons responsible for vehicle quality who participate in recall investigations will globally share information on complaints, defects, and recalls promptly.
-By achieving these objectives, processes for making appropriate and rapid decisions on recalls and other market measures will be established regionally and globally.
2) Strengthening information gathering
-Systems for strengthening information gathering as close to customers as possible will be reinforced in each region. As one example, in the United States, SMART activities for on-site investigation of vehicles concerning mainly unintended rapid acceleration will be implemented to promptly confirm actual vehicle conditions. Also, technology offices will be expanded or established in each region.
-In order to identify the causes of accidents, in North America, we will collaborate with the authorities to establish an environment for the use of event data recorders (EDR) that can determine vehicle status and the circumstances of the status of the vehicle and operations by the driver at the time of an accident and increase their use in investigations. In other regions, we will discuss EDR surveys with the authorities and encourage consideration of the use of EDRs. We will also create systems to gather information through existing remote communications functions (such as G-BOOK) to lead to quality improvements.
3) Timely and accurate information disclosures
-In addition to making requests to outside experts in various regions to confirm and evaluate the content of quality improvement activities on the regional level, we will use outside experts and specialists to confirm and evaluate the content of improvements specified by the Special Committee for Global Quality.
-Manufacturers and dealers will work together to enhance communication using educational tools that contribute to the safe use of motor vehicles by customers including information on safety technologies and safe driving techniques.
4) Enhanced product safety and peace of mind
-A special division will be established among the engineering divisions to promptly and accurately reflect customer opinions in designs.
-To raise customer peace of mind even further, a brake override system (BOS) that limits engine output when the brake pedal is pressed while the accelerator pedal is depressed, will be adopted on models produced around the world starting in 2010.
5) Human resources development
-To develop quality control professionals in each region, Customer First Training Centers will be established in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and China by July 2010.