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To help rebuild consumer confidence after recent slew of recalls, Toyota announced it is crafting a U.S.-based “Quality Task Force” to help improve its product and restore its reputation.
“The aim of our new Quality Task Force is to assure that all of us in North America listen and respond to the voice of the customer,” said Dino Triantafyllos, vice president of quality at Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA).
Toyota announced that Steve St. Angelo, presently the executive vice president of TEMA, will lead the new group. Based in Erlanger, Kentucky, the group will unite the senior executive management from various corners of the company, including research and development, manufacturing, sales, and regulatory divisions.
“We are making fundamental changes in the way our company operates,” said St. Angelo, “in order to ensure that Toyota sets an even higher standard for vehicle safety and reliability, responsiveness to customers, and transparency with regulators. The new organization will open the lines of communication globally and enable us to respond faster here in North America to any concerns about our vehicles.”
The group will also include Triantafyllos, who is now charged with overseeing safety-related matters in North America, including the timely issuance of recalls.
“My primary responsibility is to assure that we utilize all of the data at our disposal and that we promptly decide the appropriate action,” said Triantafyllos.
St. Angelo — along with the leaders of several similar groups established around the world — will meet with corporate brass in Tokyo on March 30. All group leaders will be instructed on implementing the six-point plan drafted by company president Akio Toyoda that calls for improved quality assurance, enhanced customer research, strengthened quality management training, incorporation of best practices through outside professionals, closer cooperation with regulatory authorities, and improved regional autonomy.
Source: Toyota
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