1. Co-Op Work Report
Session 1
Spring 2016
Eric Edwards
107 MacArthur Dr.
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
25 Atlantic Ave, Erlanger, KY 41018
Supervisor: John Carter
_____________________________________________

2. 2
Introduction
I started work with Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America on
January 4, 2016. I was assigned to the satellite office at the assembly plant in Princeton,
Indiana where the Toyota Highlander, Siena, and Sequoia are manufactured. They placed me in
the Body Production Engineering group which was in charge of designing and installing new
assembly lines in the body weld section of the plant.
At the beginning of my term I assisted the engineers in my group with their ongoing
plant project of expanding the plant capacity to meet rising demand. I was in charge of
updating important documents and aiding in their equipment trials over the weekends. Later in
my term I started working on my personal project which involved designing a standard process
for the Body Production Engineering group to use when checking weld location accuracy during
equipment trials.
Toyota has taught me many important business practices and concepts in my first co-op
term with them. Patience and communication skills were the major lessons that I learned with
them. I look forward to my upcoming terms and new projects to manage. I would like to learn
as much as possible about the automotive industry and all of the roles a mechanical engineer
can play in it.

3. 3
Table of Contents
Introduction …………….……………………….…………………..............2
CompanyDivisions ……………………………………………………………... 4
Work Experience and Projects …………….………………………………... 4-6
Professional Development ………………………………………………..…... 6

4. 4
Company Divisions
Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor North America
Toyota Motor Corporation was founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as an automotive
manufacturing company. After many successful years in Japan the first vehicles built for the US
market were shipped in 1957. In 1988 the first Toyota Motor Manufacturing assembly plant in
North America was established in Georgetown, Kentucky. Eight more North American plants
would follow. To oversee all of the new operations in North America, Toyota Motor North
America (TMNA) was established in 1996. Until very recently the headquarters in Japan had
been heavily involved in supporting the North American operations. Today TMNA operates
with much more independence.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Assembly Plants
Toyota is known for its lean manufacturing, referred to as the Toyota Production
System. The Toyota Production System (TPS) is studied by many companies for both its
manufacturing and management concepts. This systemcan be seen in action at any of the
Toyota plants throughout the world. In North America there are 2 assembly plants in Canada, 1
in Mexico, and 6 in the United States.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, also known as TEMA, is a
division of Toyota Motor North America. The main office is located in Erlanger, Kentucky.
TEMA’s main responsibilities encompass the supporting of the individual Toyota Motor
Manufacturing plants throughout North America. This support can range from public relations
to equipment procurement. The largest division of TEMA is Production Engineering which is
responsible for the design and installation of new assembly lines that are required in the
manufacturing plants. To keep up with the demand of the 9 major assembly plants TEMA has
satellite offices stationed at a majority of these plants.
Work Experience and Project
I was assigned to the Production Engineering division stationed at the Toyota Motor
Manufacturing Indiana plant, also known as TMMI, located in Princeton, Indiana. This is where
the Toyota Sienna, Highlander, and Sequoia are manufactured. Upon arrival at the TEMA office
at TMMI I was assigned to the Body department. This department oversees the new equipment
in the area of the plant where steel vehicle parts are welded together.
Due to the low gas prices over the past year, demand for large vehicles in the North
American market skyrocketed. To keep up with rising demand TMMI needed new assembly

5. 5
lines and processes which TEMA was in charge of installing over the winter and into the spring.
I spent the first third of my term supporting the engineers in whatever tasks were necessary to
prepare and test the new equipment for handover, when TEMA signs the equipment over to
the plant. To assist I aided in several different tasks, many of which were paperwork related. I
was in charge of updating standard work documents and parts lists for 9 processes. One of my
larger projects was to time the robots and equipment in those 9 processes to make sure that
they would meet the time requirements for the assembly line, also known as cycle time. Cycle
time is very important for a plant that produces a Toyota Highlander every 61 seconds. After
recording several times on every process I determined that none of them were over cycle and
no further actions were required.
My main project for the term was documenting and standardizing a new process that
Production Engineers could use to confirm weld location accuracy. Weld accuracy is crucial in
vehicle production because welds determine how the body behaves in an accident. Weld
accuracy also effects body rigidity which relates to how well the vehicle handles and the
smoothness of the vehicle ride. When new equipment is installed it must go through a rigorous
trial period to confirm that the welds made in the process are up to the Toyota quality
standard. The procedures that check weld location accuracy are referred to as N&P processes
or Number & Position processes because they are used to confirm the number and position of
welds on the vehicle body.
I started my project by learning the current situation. The current N&P process relies
upon 2D scale drawings of the vehicle that show all of the weld locations on the vehicle. The
problem with this method is that the designers of the vehicle would prefer that we use the
master CAD data that is 3D to check weld location. So in response to this request there have
been several trials of Vectoron N&P. This is a procedure that utilizes a Vectoron, which is a
measuring device with a multi-jointed arm that has a probe on the end. This probe can measure
points in 3D space. The Vectoron is loaded with the necessary 3D part and weld data and then
used to check the actual location of welds to the 3D weld data that is loaded into it. When the
trials were conducted there was no standard way to conduct Vectoron N&P and that is where
my project comes in.
Throughout the development of my process I ran several tests with coworkers who
were unfamiliar with the process which provided great feedback. I also conducted meetings
with other groups who have trialed Vectoron N&P so I could learn how they performed the
process and ask for improvement ideas. The practice of meeting with multiple parties to take
into account their ideas and feedback on a particular change or project and to gain their
consent is called Nemawashi, which means “going around the roots.” Nemawashi is a very
important practice in Japanese business culture and it is basically required before hosting any

6. 6
formal meetings for project approval. After hosting several revision meetings and collecting trial
data from other sources I presented it to management for approval. I received approval for my
final project on May 5, 2016. After approval I spent the rest of the term presenting my project
to management.
I enjoyed my main project along with the various other small projects that I was given
along the way. I was surprised at the amount of work I was responsible for as a first term co-op.
I always had tasks to perform and I even had to come in several weekends to support the
engineers with their project installations and trials.
Professional Development
The amount of information that I have learned as a co-op at Toyota was comparable to
a semester of classes. Working in an automotive assembly plant has taught me a lot about the
industry itself and what it takes to keep a vehicle company running. Toyota has also taught me
many important concepts related to proper business practices and many skills related to
project management. The most important lessons that Toyota has taught me this term are
being patient and communicating effectively when working with others.