The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

and others issues. These resident engineers sometimes make
as many as three thousand adjustments in one to two
months. This is Toyota's unique method called "tsukurikomi,"
and is reputed to be a major factor in Toyota's ability to
produce cars of the highest quality in the world.
The "reverse RE" group was a group of production
technology engineers sent from the plant to join the
development division before the production line was
installed to improve and perfect the hybrid vehicle with
which they had no experience.
Before Takaoka Plant was officially selected, the plant's
Quality Management Department sent Fukuo Mayumi and
Koji Matsumoto to product planning. The two were not
officially transferred, but came on their own. The plant
also was eager to make this unprecedented project succeed.
The first job for the two was reconnaissance by attending
the weekly meeting and gathering information. When
Takaoka Plant was officially selected at the production
division conference after the Prius Design Review in
September 1996, the two were officially placed at Vehicle
Development Center II Product Planning Division. Then,
they began working on details, such as plant layout.
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