According to an article from Sourceable.net, Toyota is removing robots from some processes in its Japanese factories.
From the article: “Over the past three years, the company has replaced the robots at some of its Japanese plants with 100 manual-intensive workspaces staffed by human beings. Young workers are now entrusted with the crafting of crankshafts, axle beams and chassis parts in lieu of long-standing automated processes.”
Sources at Toyota said that this has produced a 10 per cent reduction in material wastage arising from crankshaft production at its Honsha plant, as well as reduced the length of the production line by a stunning 96 per cent.
The architect of this new policy is Mitsuru Kawai, who has been charged with creating a new culture of craftsmanship within Toyota.
This is one of those unlooked-for trends that we should be watching.
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