Toyota promotes manual-intensive production at Japanese plants

Automaker sites examples of reduced material-related waste.

Toyota is promoting manual-intensive production at its domestic plants as it seeks to reduce automation and robotics, reports Bloomberg. The initiative is being overseen by senior technical executive Mitsuru Kawai, who has been tapped by company president Akio Toyoda to promote craftsmanship at the automaker's plants. "We need to become more solid and get back to basics, to sharpen our manual skills and further develop them," said Kawai, who has helped create about 100 manual-intensive workspaces over the last three years across Toyota's domestic factories. "