Is it common sense in the automotive industry? What is the TP standard?

There are special terms that are used only in each industry and company.

Among these so-called industry terms, there are some terms that are essential to know if you are in the automotive industry.

This time, we will talk about one of the most famous industry terms, TP standard.

What is TP Standard?

This is a standard box for Toyota made by Toyota and Sanko, a major plastic box manufacturer.

Also known as Toyota Boxes, these boxes are usually used to deliver parts to the Toyota Group.

The number after the TP, such as TP362, indicates the size of the box.

TP ①, ②, and ③ are shown in the following figure.

For example, in the case of TP362, the first number 3 indicates the size of (1), the second number 6 indicates the size of (2), and the third number 2 indicates the size of (3), so that the size of the box can be determined by the model number.

Why do we need standards?

The superiority of TP boxes is that they do not reduce transportation efficiency, since boxes of different sizes can be packed without gaps, as shown in the figure below.

To build an automobile, a large number of parts of various sizes are required, and these various sizes must be transported in large quantities.

Even the smallest of gaps can become a huge amount of waste if they accumulate.

It can be said that this is a typical Toyota way of thoroughly eliminating muri (unreasonableness), mura (irregularity), and muda (waste).

Are there any other manufacturer's standards?

Mazda, like Toyota, has a Mazda standard.

Other manufacturers do not have a standard, but often use the TP standard.

The reason is that the TP standard itself is superior and because it is produced in large quantities for Toyota, it tends to be inexpensive.

When I was a packaging engineer, he had a hard time with these boxes.

When produced overseas, they are imported into Japan in cardboard boxes, but car manufacturers do not like cardboard deliveries.

The production line of a car manufacturer is like a battlefield.

Every second counts.

It was not allowed to open corrugated boxes on the production line, and therefore, corrugated boxes were not allowed to be delivered.

Even if the cardboard was water-repellent, water could seep through, and there was also the issue of strength.

If a stack of corrugated boxes collapsed, the product would be unusable, which would be a big loss.

Since plastic boxes do not have such concerns, we could not deliver corrugated boxes from the standpoint of risk hedging.

Procedures for arranging TP boxes for the launch of a new model

For domestic production

Before starting up a new line, TP boxes are purchased according to the number of product requirements sent by the car manufacturer.

The order is placed after calculating the number of products to be placed in each box, the number of days required for one turn from the production plant to the destination plant, etc. If there are a large number of boxes, the order is delivered in installments.

If there were too many boxes, we would have to deliver in installments, and it was very difficult to contact all the related parties....

Then, the TP boxes are sent to the production line, and the products are placed in the boxes for shipment.

For overseas production

As with domestic production, TP boxes are purchased according to the number of product requirements sent by the car manufacturer.

The difference from domestic production is that the turnover rate of boxes is slightly higher because it does not involve a domestic factory, and work at depots is required.

At a depot near a car manufacturer's delivery plant, we ask the customer to open the cardboard boxes, cut the flaps, and place the empty-mouthed cardboard boxes into the TP boxes.

After that, we cover the boxes with a plastic cover with a dumpster and deliver them to the customer.

Then, at the depot, the products can be taken out simply by turning the plastic cover over.

This work at the depot was so unpopular that we had to visit the depot every time to ask for help.

In the early days of the launch, I visited the depot as a packaging engineer to provide guidance on the work.

It was one of the routines at the time of launching a new model.

Conclusion

Despite these efforts by carmakers and parts suppliers, there has been recent news of price increases for automobiles.

The reason for the price increase is said to be a rise in the price of steel and other parts, but the price of wheat and other foodstuffs has also been raised across the board, which is not good news.

It would be nice to hear about wage increases as well, but we would also like to hear some positive news.

Thanks for reading!