Toyota Production System helps Bangalore supplier scale up face shield output by 1900%

In line with its ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) is continually engaging with and supporting other stakeholders who are making efforts to fight this pandemic. Now TKM, which continually backs component supplier development activity, has provided its expertise to Stumpp Schuele & Somappa Springs to significantly enhance the capacity to manufacture the face shields for the public health workforce and law enforcement agencies in the state of Karnataka.

Based in Bangalore, Stumpp Schuele & Somappa Springs, a major manufacturer of springs in India, has taken a proactive initiative to develop and produce face shields in order to assist the healthcare department, hospitals, diagnostic centres, and other medical facilities.

Initially, the company was producing 275 face shields a day. However, with the support of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, with its expertise in Toyota Production System (TPS), the company has managed to ramp up the production and has successfully started manufacturing over 5,500 units. The company is now focusing on scaling up the production to much beyond 10,000 units per day, in the coming days.

Commenting on the developments, Raju B Ketkale, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said: “Amidst the pandemic that ails the country and the repercussions of the countrywide lock-down, Toyota lauds the government for its proactive measures in fighting the virus and is prepared to support them in every possible manner. Toyota has always supported its supplier partners and when Stumpp Schuele & Somappa Springs announced its plans to develop and manufacture face shields for the public health workforce, we joined their initiative to share our best practices in Toyota Production System (TPS) and enhance their manufacturing capacity of face shields in support of their cause. I congratulate both the teams in achieving such fantastic scaling in a short time despite so many constraints. Times like these calls for all of us to come together and put our collective efforts and come out victorious."

Satish Machani, Managing Director , Stumpp Schuele & Somappa Springs said, “In these challenging times, the Central and State governments have set forth remarkable efforts to combat the crisis and overcome this devastation. At this juncture of nationwide distress, as a responsible corporate, this is our contribution to government efforts in battling this crisis. We are thankful to Toyota for providing us the necessary support and technical guidance in enhancing the production capacity at this hour of need. This not only helped us simplifying our processes but also provided required assistance.”

After successfully producing over 5,500 units of face shields per day, Toyota will continue to support the supplier partner and assist them in enhancing the productivity by resolving issues related to workforce, layout modifications and other operations to reach a production capacity of much beyond  10,000 units per day. In-line, Toyota will continue to look for more collaborations and is open to assist any critical component manufacturers in order to strengthen the fight against COVID-19.

What is the Toyota Production System?
Toyota Production System or TPS is a production system based on the philosophy of achieving the complete elimination of all waste in pursuit of the most efficient methods.

Toyota Motor Corporation's vehicle production system is a way of making things that is sometimes referred to as a 'lean manufacturing system', or a 'Just-in-Time (JIT) system', and has come to be well known and studied worldwide.

This production control system was established based on many years of continuous improvements, with the objective of making the vehicles ordered by customers in the quickest and most efficient way, in order to deliver the vehicles as swiftly as possible. TPS was established based on two concepts: 'jidoka' (which can be loosely translated as 'automation with a human touch'"), as when a problem occurs, the equipment stops immediately, preventing defective products from being produced; and the 'Just-in-Time' concept, in which each process produces only what is needed for the next process in a continuous flow.