Question

Chap. 6:- Honda was the first Japanese auto manufacturer to produce cars in the United States. At that time there was much skepticism as to whether U.S. workers could adapt to the Japanese emphasis on high quality. Honda has succeeded in the United States, and other Japanese auto manufacturers have followed. At Honda, why is it so important to plan ahead, as much as five years, for quality of vehicle models? How is the design process related to quality management? What is the role of the PDCA cycle at Honda ? Why does Honda produce new and old models simultaneously? What is “quality fatigue”? How does Honda address it in its plant?

Answer 1

At Honda it’s important to plan ahead for the quality of vehicles because any problems that arise can be fixed in the design stage, making it more cost-effective and efficient for the business. The role of the PDCA cycle at Honda is to check potential issues that could arise, act on these issues, plan better production methods and get different equipment, and then train employees on how to use the new equipment and methods. Honda produces new and old models simultaneously because the workers that are actually building the cars make fewer mistakes during production if they stay at the same level of capacity and efficiency. In addition, to prevent quality fatigue, Honda will encourage their associates to be familiar with multiple tasks and departments so they can rotate tasks every two hours. This helps prevent quality fatigue because you aren’t doing the same repetitive tasks for extended long periods of time.