Toyota has gained a reputation worldwide for consistently producing high-quality vehicles. This reputation has been built through a dedicated approach to quality control and assurance. Toyota’s founder, Sakichi Toyoda, once said: “a product should never be sold until it has been carefully manufactured and tested thoroughly and satisfactorily.” This quote is still at the heart of everything Toyota creates.

Total Quality Management

In their updated Approach to Quality document, Toyota describes their ‘company-wide quality control’ in which all members have two jobs - both their own job and quality assurance. Quality assurance has been ingrained into every department to ensure the greatest possible standard of their vehicles.

In the past, competitors of Toyota have built their cars before taking them apart to test components and ensure they work. Toyota, on the other hand, builds it right the first time, to avoid the costs involved in re-assembling the car after testing. They have fine-tuned their production line to reduce the time and money spent on making the cars, without impacting on the quality of the car.

The technology used in the production line is reflective of Toyota’s brand values. The processes are equipped with “Pokayoke” devices, which automatically stop production if an error is detected. This gives staff the opportunity to fix the mistake quickly, eliminating low quality, poorly made products from being sold to the public. This is refined further as each piece of equipment is allocated a different tune. The staff member learns to recognise each tune, and can therefore fix the issue even faster.

Toyota is a clear industry leader in quality management and at Nexor, we aim to give our customers the same level of assurance.

 Nexor's Approach to Quality and Security

At Nexor, we take inspiration from the Toyota style of quality management and implement this across the whole business. Security is built in at every stage, and our security processes and controls are continually improved upon. Any security concerns are sorted out when they occur, instead of being passed onto the next person.

We aim to prevent reoccurrence by thoroughly examining the causes and taking the appropriate measures to address them. Here at Nexor, we believe it is important to find the root cause of the problem - which can be done by asking “why?” Normally finding a root cause will require “why” to be asked at least 5 times. It is only then that a pattern can be identified and a suitable solution to the problem can be implemented.

For Toyota, the quality of the complete product is heavily dependent upon a regular supply of high-quality parts. Nexor has developed long term working relationships with its partners through early selection and joint development. We have also implemented an assurance process in order to verify the trustworthiness of third-party components, to ensure that our customers receive the best possible service. Nexor’s Total Security Management (TSM) incorporated within our CyberShield Secure® methodology can be compared to Toyota’s Total Quality Management (TQM), as we go through every stage of the process to ensure maximum security policies and procedures are built in from the ground up.

 The Benefits of a Quality Approach

There are many benefits to a quality approach. Companies who put quality at the heart of their business can see the rewards over time and can potentially overtake their competitors. Of course, there are some negatives; if a business does not implement the quality management system effectively, the business may suffer. If members of staff are only partially trained, they will not know how to efficiently deal with issues, and this can create problems throughout the whole company. However, if the quality system is thoroughly planned and implemented, the business will see a range of benefits.

These benefits include an eventual reduction in manufacturing costs as less waste is produced, and the time of skilled workers is optimised. There will be a greater efficiency of tools and equipment if problems are easily identified. The quality of suppliers is improved once there is a quality assurance policy, and as a result, customers receive a better service overall.

Nexor benefits from a quality approach through:

• Reduced development costs attributable to less waste;

• Greater efficiency via optimised processes;

• Greater optimisation of skilled workers’ time and talents;

• Improved assurance of third-party supplied components; (hardware and software);

• Continual reductions in non-compliance.

Implementing a quality management system has encouraged our staff to be vigilant in identifying opportunities and potential risks. This leads to innovation, as we identify areas which need improvement and creates new solutions. Therefore, our customers benefit as they can be confident that the product meets its security claims, and that they won’t have any ongoing issues. They will also be confident that their products are consistently built to the agreed specification.

Our approach to quality management has improved our business tenfold, and we strive for continual improvement every day. Our customers receive the best possible secure systems, created with potential threats in mind. To find out more about our cybersecurity solutions, contact our expert team.