Some assembly operations that normally take several seconds for most cars necessitate up to a minute with Toyota’s deluxe Century SUV, Toyota Times reports. The idea is to ensure compliance with the strictest factory standards.
The Tahara factory where the model is made employs around 1,500 people. However, only 40 out of them – and the most experienced ones, at that – are allowed to work on the Century. All employees must first pass five-month-long advanced training courses and three exams to qualify for the job. Knowing the detailed history of the Century model and its target audience is mandatory, too.
In the video here, you can get a good idea of the high standards Toyota maintains for this particular premium vehicle series. The suspension workers are normally allowed to tighten up the bolts to within 20% of the standard required tension. When assembling a Century SUV, they must ensure that all bolts are tightened to within 5% of their required level – no more, no less. Not just that, but the company actively encourages them to get as close as humanly possible to the required values before proceeding.
Up to three different tools are used in the various assembly procedures to ensure the maximum precision; in regular car manufacturing, one versatile multitool is typically enough. The Century assembly line also employs digital dynamometric wrenches that feed their info into computer databases in real time. If a problem arises in the future, the company will have plenty of info to determine what went wrong, when and which cars are affected.
As one would expect, this leads to longer assembly times. Toyota Times claims that no more than three Century SUVs can be made in any given day.