At a factory south of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, robots have started sharing the work of quality-control inspectors, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates a shift from Toyota¡¯s vaunted ¡°go and see¡± system which helped revolutionize mass production in the 20th century.
Inside the auto-parts plant of Musashi Seimitsu Industry Co. Ltd., a robotic arm picks up and spins a bevel gear, scanning its teeth against a light in search of surface flaws. The inspection takes about two seconds ¡ª similar to that of highly trained employees who check around 1,000 units per shift.
¡°Inspecting 1,000 of the exact same thing day-in day-out requires a lot of skill and expertise, but it¡¯s not very creative,¡± Chief Executive Hiroshi Otsuka said. ¡°We¡¯d like to release workers from those tasks.¡±
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