Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.:
Step 5 - Implement Action Plan
Partner Profile
Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America (TMMNA) oversees manufacturing operations for vehicle assembly, parts, and materials in North America. TMMNA operates assembly and other manufacturing plants in nine states as well as Mexico and Canada. Toyota was founded on the principle of continuous improvement, and received the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Awards for Energy Management in 2005 and 2006.
Industrial Partner Since 2003
Awards & Recognition
-
Partner of the Year
2005
-
Sustained Excellence
2007,2006
-
Sustained Excellence
2008
« See all Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. In Practice Stories
Contact Information:
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
25 Atlantic Avenue
Erlanger, KY 41018
859-746-4000
In Practice
5: Implement Action Plan
Specifics Bring Success
Without support at all levels of the organization, the Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America (TMMNA) energy program could not have been implemented. For Toyota, implementing an organization-wide energy action plan starts at the top with specific corporate energy goals. These goals are set and monitored by a corporate Energy Management Organization (EMO) which is led by the President and the Facility Control Manager. Senior management involvement is continual, as managers attend corporate Environmental Steering Committee meetings monthly.
Every plant-level EMO develops an action plan to meet each specific corporate energy goal and involves all plant team members. These EMOs report to the corporate team on the action plans they develop and identify reduction targets, key improvements to be implemented, and each project's cost and schedule. During the actual implementation stage for energy projects, each action plan is reviewed and updated quarterly with Senior Management. This multi-level approach to energy initiatives is the backbone of TMMNA's extensive energy program, and the paybacks are not hard to find: TMMNA met its goal of a 15 percent energy intensity reduction by 2005, two years early.
5.1: Create a Communication Plan
Heightened Awareness
As one of the activities of their Energy Management Organization, Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America makes educating all employees on energy management a priority. Their goal is to encourage the adoption of the company's resource management philosophy and culture. Toyota has discovered that corporate-wide communication helps to "yokoten" or transfer best practices from one plant to another. For this reason, the Energy Management Organization takes creative approaches to communicating energy management, including energy fairs where innovative prizes are awarded, monthly awareness campaigns on a chosen subject, quarterly energy newsletters, as well as speeches and presentations given by corporate management. One example of the specific facility awareness campaigns is educating team members on the costs of inefficiencies like compressed air leaks.
Toyota goes beyond raising company awareness by sharing best practices and energy messages with suppliers. This helps Toyota reach its goal of reducing energy intensity at all phases of manufacturing. These awareness campaigns lead to strong support of energy programs resulting in one North American plant saving 50,000 MMBtu annually.
5.2: Raise Awareness
Model Plants Demonstrate Potential
To overcome the sentiment that implementing new energy saving ideas is risky, Toyota's corporate Energy Management Organization works with one "Model Plant" kaizen team to implement ideas from their "Energy Kaizen Database." The process of implementing thousands of energy saving ideas and overcoming obstacles to success can be lengthy. However, Toyota has found that the paybacks are well worth it, because other plants visit the model plant and learn how to make best practices a reality with less resistance to change. A model plant in Kentucky has demonstrated how certain changes can result in annual savings of 50,000 Btu per vehicle produced.
5.3: Build Capacity
The Potential of Best Practices
Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America has developed an internal database where over 14,500 energy saving ideas are made accessible to all plant energy teams. The database is used by plant energy managers looking for energy saving projects. Toyota estimates that its North American plants have implemented 40 percent of these best practices. To demonstrate potential energy savings of the "Kaizen Database", Toyota used their Texas Manufacturing facility as a source for design feedback. If the Texas plant implements all the design feedback ideas the plant's energy would be reduced by 3.18 MMBtu per vehicle compared to the mother plant.
5.5: Track and Monitor
Metering Pays Off
It would be impossible for Toyota Motor Manufacturing N.A. to meet their ambitious energy goals without closely monitoring manufacturing energy use. So Toyota established a metering standard stating that all plants should record hourly electric data broken down by process equipment. Toyota requires all plants to meter large energy-consuming equipment (such as the paint shop) hourly and analyze energy use trends throughout the day and during downtime. This allows energy teams to identify energy waste, such as during lunch and between shifts. All metering data is available in a central database for employees to review. The metering data is reported to Toyota's North American headquarters, and plant energy teams discuss metering trends at daily and weekly energy briefings to determine where and how energy improvements can be made. These practices helped Toyota to meet their energy goals two years early.
Other Implement Action Plan In Practice Stories:
