The 2021 Sienna Toyota marked a significant reimagining of the minivan, showcasing bold styling, a standard hybrid powertrain, and optional all-wheel drive. Engineered and designed in Michigan and assembled in Indiana, this fourth-generation Sienna was poised to redefine its segment. However, the final stages of its development coincided with the unprecedented global pandemic, forcing the Toyota team to innovate not just on the vehicle itself, but also on their entire engineering process.
The original plan for the 2021 Sienna Toyota was a traditional unveiling at the New York International Auto Show. The engineering team in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was in the crucial prototyping phase, aiming for a March 2020 completion. But as the global pandemic emerged and shutdowns began, those plans were quickly disrupted. The team had to adapt to working from home, and the grand auto show reveal was replaced with a digital broadcast. The timeline for the Sienna Toyota, like so much else in early 2020, was turned upside down.
Critical Timing: Gathering Data Just in Time
Fortuitously, initial manufacturing trials for the Sienna Toyota had already begun at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (TMMI) in early March. This timing proved crucial as the engineering team entered the Early Detection Early Resolution (EDER) phase.
“While we got a bit lucky with the timing, it was clear to us that the pandemic situation was getting worse as countries around the world began to shut down. We took the opportunity to get as much hands-on time with the vehicle as possible in early March,” explained Chief Engineer, Monte Kaehr. This proactive approach allowed them to gather essential data and insights while they still had access to the physical vehicle and facilities.
This early data collection proved invaluable. On March 19th, a comprehensive engineering review session was held to pinpoint any final adjustments needed before the engineering cutoff. Just days later, on March 23rd, Michigan announced its shutdown, and the R&D team transitioned to remote work the following day.
“This is the phase where we focus on refinement, and despite the change in our working environment, we did not skimp on any details,” Kaehr emphasized. Toyota’s core principle of Genchi Genbutsu, meaning “go and see,” emphasizes hands-on engineering. Although working remotely with pre-collected data, the team had to completely reimagine how to uphold Genchi Genbutsu from their home offices.
Engineering the Sienna Toyota from Home
As the Sienna Toyota engineering team settled into their makeshift home offices – ranging from garages to kitchen tables – they established new routines to tackle the technical changes required. Remote access to terminals at Toyota’s Ann Arbor R&D facility was available, but bandwidth limitations meant they had to work in shifts. Some team members began remoting into Computer Aided Design (CAD) stations as early as 4:00 a.m., maximizing bandwidth before handing it over to colleagues later in the day.
Project timelines compressed dramatically, shifting from weeks to days to meet critical milestones. Frequent check-ins among team members became essential for sharing progress and problem-solving. Ingenuity became the order of the day. Video conferencing enabled drawing reviews, sketch walkthroughs, and even demonstrations of physical mock-ups from different locations. Engineers utilized whatever resources they had at hand.
For instance, Engineer Kyle Steinkamp needed to adjust the rear brake hose housing design to ensure proper clearance from suspension components. Lacking sophisticated tools, Steinkamp utilized his garage bench vise as a reference point to validate the design change. Similarly, Senior Engineering Manager David Burke used his personal 3D printer to prototype and finalize the flexible fabric shroud for the Sienna Toyota’s adjustable steering column.
The Paperless Approval System: A Timely Innovation
These home-based innovations were made possible by a crucial digital tool: the Paperless Approval System (PAS). Its timely implementation proved essential for maintaining engineering progress remotely.
The push for PAS began in 2018 when then-TMNA CEO Jim Lentz challenged departments to identify cost-saving opportunities. The Digital Solutions team seized this opportunity to champion the digitization of the paper-heavy engineering process. Traditionally, approvals required physical signatures on drawings, creating bottlenecks, especially for traveling team members, and incurring significant printing and administrative costs.
The Digital Solutions team had been advocating for a paperless system and Lentz’s challenge provided the impetus to elevate the idea. The potential savings were clear, and development of PAS commenced. The system evolved within TMNA, with continuous feature updates. The final piece – paperless drawings – was slated for rollout in summer 2020. However, as COVID-19 closures loomed in February, the team accelerated their efforts, working with Toyota IT to expedite the implementation. By the end of March, the paperless process was in place, keeping the Sienna Toyota and other vehicle programs on schedule.
“The paperless approval system was absolutely critical to our success in being able to make engineering changes remotely,” Kaehr affirmed. “Relying on paper drawings would have significantly slowed down the remote working process, if not halted it. The PAS system is a backbone of the digital culture shift within the organization, and it has reduced lead time which has led to the engineering team achieving technical targets with higher volumes.”
Production Engineering Adapts Remotely
While the R&D team finalized design changes, the production engineering team concurrently tackled production line adjustments remotely. This task, already complex with full line access, now had to be managed from afar.
Engineers at Toyota’s Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center (PEMC) in Kentucky collaborated closely with the Michigan R&D team during the shutdown, leveraging data from earlier benchmarking phases. This data allowed them to maintain the production engineering schedule. The 2021 Sienna Toyota features a global first for Toyota: an aluminum sliding door. The team was still refining fitment accuracy before the shutdown. Utilizing R&D data, they prepared CAD files remotely, ensuring they were ready for implementation upon returning to the production line. The PEMC team also pioneered some of the COVID-19 safety protocols that would soon be implemented across Toyota’s North American facilities as manufacturing resumed.
The Digital Unveiling of the Sienna Toyota
On March 10th, the New York International Auto Show, the planned venue for the 2021 Sienna Toyota’s debut, was postponed. TMNA anticipated potential postponement or cancellation by early March, and the R&D team had already prepared three vehicles for auto show use. Following the final engineering review on March 19th, a swift decision was made to ship one of these vehicles to TMNA headquarters in Plano, Texas, as a contingency plan.
This proactive move proved timely, occurring just days before the work-from-home transition. With show vehicles secured, the Plano team pivoted from a traditional auto show reveal to Toyota’s inaugural all-digital unveiling on May 18th. This online event garnered over 15,000 views, showcasing both the 2021 Sienna Toyota and the 2021 Venza two-row crossover, both hybrid-only models.
A New Normal and Lasting Lessons
TMMI resumed production on May 18th after nearly two months of closure. The Sienna Toyota team progressed with finalizing pre-production changes, with full production slated for Fall 2020.
Despite the unconventional engineering process, the 2021 Sienna Toyota upheld Toyota’s renowned quality and reliability. The team also gained invaluable lessons that promise to benefit the organization long-term.
“We had to maximize both efficiency and ingenuity during our time working from home, and I think this will lead to greater flexibility and productivity in the future,” Kaehr concluded. “Kaizen, or continuous improvement, is central to Toyota, and we learned a great deal during these months that can enhance processes across the entire organization.”
