14 LX and 20 Cruiser from Autobody/Araco
Curious @Onur
@cruiserdan was it evident that the technicians took pride in their work while touring? Perhaps at a higher level than domestic manufacturers?
I’m not sure that’s something that can be gleaned by just walking through Yoshiwara or Tahara. You would really need to spend time talking to employees about how they do what they do.
I mean, let’s be realistic: they are assembly line workers. They are doing the same thing over and over again hundreds of times a day. Ask yourself how happy and excited you would be to go work if you were on an assembly line? I mean, for us, the LC means something radically different than it does for a rank-and-file Land Cruiser assembly worker.
They do rotate through jobs/machines/positions, but in the end, they are just doing assembly work. Robots and large machines do all of the major stamping, welding, painting, machining, etc. It’s all super automated at both Tahara and Yoshiwara.
That being said, both Tahara and Yoshiwara are some of the most exacting manufacturing plants on earth. Tahara, especially, has been studied by academics for years as an exemplary manufacturing operation for emulation.
Are they "happier" or more "precise" about the work they do during their shift in comparison to US auto workers? The statistics say yes and the products themselves say yes as well. Tahara workers aren't going and having a few cocktails and joint at lunch.
Something else to keep in mind: LC manufacture at Tahara was only instituted to keep up with sales demand of the 200 series globally. It is not a normal product for them, historically. Yoshiwara has always been the home plant of the Land Cruiser. I would venture a guess and say that the 300 series will NOT be manufactured at Tahara. But that's just an educated guess.