CASE STUDY : TOYOTA AUTOPARTS PHILIPPINES
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CASE STUDY
“We have compared products from several vendors and
Motorola was the closest one that matches our
requirements. We were impressed by the ease of
handling, the durability and the aesthetics of the Motorola
Mobile Computers.” - Reine D. Baltazar, Supervisor,
Systems Engineering Section, Toyota Autoparts
Engineering.
Company Overview: Toyota Autoparts Philippines
Toyota Autoparts Philippines is the global production and supply base for
manual transmissions for the Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle
(IMV) project. Toyota initiated the IMV project to create an optimized global
manufacturing and supply system for pickup trucks and multipurpose vehicles
to satisfy market demand in more than 140 countries worldwide. Toyota
Autoparts Philippines is located in Laguna, City of Santa Rosa with 1,063 team
members. Their main customers are from other Toyota affiliates located in
other Asian countries, Argentina and South Africa.
The Challenge : Keeping Track of Hundreds of Components
Toyota Autoparts Philippines assembles two manual transmissions models
(with each comprising more than hundreds of parts) and Constant-Velocity
(CV) Joint. Each end-product needs to undergo about 12 processes from raw
material to the complete product. These processes include machining, grinding, heat treatment and casting. An average of 600 units of transmission and
780 set of CVJ are produced per day.
Keeping track of the hundreds of parts that go into each of the models has
been a challenge, as these parts come from hundreds of suppliers, located
both locally and overseas. Previously, Toyota Autoparts Philippines employed a
manual method to track the parts used, which meant that each assembly line
worker required a significant amount of time to capture and input this data
into a centralized database.
For Toyota Autoparts Philippines, a key goal is complete customer
satisfaction, as well as to make it easy to trace the defective parts. In
addition, Toyota Autoparts Philippines is continually improving the efficiency
and productivity in the supply chain, based on the guiding principle of Kaizen,
or “improvement” in Japanese.
Toyota Autoparts Philippines
Optimizes Supply Chain with
Motorola Enterprise Mobility
Solutions
Customer Profile
Company
Toyota Autoparts Philippines
Location
Philippines
Industry
Automobile Manufacturing
Products
• MC9090G Mobile Computers
• AP5131 Access Points
Partner
Imax Solutions
CASE STUDY : TOYOTA AUTOPARTS PHILIPPINES
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As a result, the Quality Control (QC) department
had promoted the idea of a system that would
allow them to easily track and trace each
component. Toyota Autoparts Philippines also
wanted to increase worker productivity for
everyday tasks like shelf price audit, direct store
delivery and order entry. The results would enable
error-proofing of defective parts and quality
quarantine, line sequencing, real time SPC with
track and traceability.
The Solution : Barcodes and Mobile Application
to Track Components Easily and Quickly
Consequently, the Traceability System was
developed with automated bar codes. It composed
of a web application (intranet), the proprietary
“Crosslink Server application” of iMAX and mobile
application running on Windows CE.
The web application was used for viewing and
updating unit, pallet and container status as well
as producing reports. The “Crosslink Server
application” provides real time access of data to
mobile computer. Mobile application is the front
end GUI based application which is used by team
members for capturing units passed on Testing,
Packing and Checking and Loading stages.
To enable the reading of the bar codes on the
manufacturing floor, Toyota Autoparts Philippines
chose the Motorola 20 units of MC9090G Mobile
Computers and 8 units of AP5131 access points.
“We have compared products from several
vendors and Motorola was the closest one that
matches our requirements. We were impressed by
the ease of handling, the durability and the
aesthetics of the Motorola Mobile Computers,”
said Reine D. Baltazar, Supervisor, Systems
Engineering Section, Toyota Autoparts.
“The production utilizes oils and coolant.
Durability is a key criteria - some products we
looked at would not last in the production area.”
The Motorola MC9090G Mobile Computer
combines proven durable design, wireless
networking and an easy-to-use interface in a single
device. Its rugged construction is able to withstand
rigorous use in the extreme environment of the
Toyota Autoparts Philippines manufacturing floor.
It automatically updates the database and helps to
prevent manual errors, and the assembly line
workers have gained the freedom to be mobile
throughout the factory floor.
The MC9090G mobile computers with its bar
code scanning capabilities are integrated with
the Motorola open-architecture wireless network
to offer high-performance data communications.
Motorola AP5131 access point supports the IEEE
802.11 wireless LAN standard, operating in the 2.4
Ghz band using spread-spectrum modulation. The
system’s range and capacity are expandable with
the addition of more access points, offering Toyota
Autoparts Philippines scalability while maintaining
their initial investment in technology. The bar code
data captured by the MC9090G mobile
computers are automatically communicated to the
host system through Motorola’s wireless LAN.
“The MC9090G is used from the assembly line up
to the point of delivery and packing, tracking the
products every step of the way. Any future
problems that may arise on any of the units
produced can be traced to any point in the
assembly process. Thus, giving us the other
information that could prepare us for
countermeasures,” said Baltazar.
Toyota Autoparts Philippines took a year to
implement the Traceability System, including
system development, starting from 2006.
Application(s)
A Traceability system was
developed with automated
bar codes. It composed of a
web application that was used
for viewing and updating unit,
pallet and container status,
and producing reports. The
barcodes are read by Motorola
MC9090G Mobile Computers
and transmitted by Motorola
AP5131 access points.
Benefits
• Reduce work loads per
person per day
• Experience fewer errors and
has improved productivity
• Greater real time visibility
and availability of information
on the components and raw
materials
CASE STUDY : TOYOTA AUTOPARTS PHILIPPINES
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The Benefits : Real-Time Tracking and Improved
Productivity
The combination of wireless local area network
(WLAN) enabled hand-held computers, and bar
code technologies have helped to streamline Toyota
Autoparts Philippines’s manufacturing processes.
“The Traceability System combined with the
automating of the bar code system has helped
Toyota Autoparts Philippines to shave off 30 to 50
percent of the monitoring and data entry of
production output by team members,” said
Baltazar.
By creating a more seamless flow of continuous,
accurate documentation on machine conditions and
materials, Toyota Autoparts Philippines now
experiences fewer errors and has improved
productivity.
“Mobility is highly improved, as users carry the
Motorola MC9090G mobile computers as they
work. They do not need to be in one place, but can
go back and forth and still send data back to the
database. Hard copy documents are minimized,
since information is directly stored in the system,”
said Baltazar.
Toyota Autoparts Philippines has also experienced
greater transparency and availability of information
regarding the components and raw materials that
make up the final product. This has allowed Toyota
Autoparts Philippines to quickly trace and
immediately address any concerns regarding the
quality of the product. And in the event of a
defective product, to quickly trace the component
responsible and from there trace the product
batches that are affected.
“This system has enabled any defective parts to be
easily traced to its “root” and avoid any possible
customer claims due to defects. From the point
of the initial process to the finished product, our
system can trace the batches or group which may
possibly contain defects,” said Baltazar.
“This has helped to ease our tracking of defects, as
each component has its own barcode. Previously,
when a product is defective, the whole batch is
under question.”
Going forward, Toyota Autoparts Philippines is
looking at its warehousing procedures, and plans
to integrate that with the company’s ERP system,
and to make use of the bar coding system for their
issuance and receiving of items.
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation
in communications and is focused on advancing
the way the world connects. From broadband
communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility
and public safety solutions to high-definition video
and mobile devices, Motorola is leading the next
wave of innovations that enable people, enterprises
and governments to be more connected and more
mobile. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) had sales of US
$30.1 billion in 2008. For more information, please
visit www.motorola.com.
Motorola Enterprise Mobility business, 169 HV Dela Costa Street, 21st Floor, Salcedo Towers, Salcedo Village Makati City 1200, Philippines
+632.893.2565 www.motorola.com/ph/enterprise
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of their respective owners. Motorola, Inc. © 2009. All rights reserved.
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