The Kolín car manufacturer, TPCA Toyota Peugeot Citroën, held an international conference on quality circles that are unique methods of developing human resources in companies on Friday, July 24th. Around one hundred participants in eight teams, three Czech from TPCA and five Polish from the Toyota factory located in Walbrzych and Jelcz were presented.

TPCA presented three circles at the conference. The first to present was the team “Smečka z Áčka” from Logistics, who presented its project on lowering the physical demand when preparing the material. The second of the projects presented a solution to reduce the number of defects in the welding shop lead by the team called Steel Bees. The third representatives from Kolín was the Scientific Technical Group circle from the paint shop, which succeeded in the corporate round with a project to reduce the number of discarded cartridges for paint. "It 's amazing to see how our employees use very sophisticated methods in solving problems. They are true professionals in their field and they all have my respect. Their presentations were evaluated very positively by representatives of Toyota’s European management," commented the vice-president of TPCA after the presentation Jiří Černý.

Quality circles are teams of four or five workers, usually from one workplace, who come together and use the best methods to try to improve the selected work procedure. Their aim is to improve quality, save costs and improve the employee’s work environment. The project management methods are learned under the guidance of a trained advisor and can then be used in everyday practice. At the end of the six-month cycle, the quality circle participants present their results to company management and improve their presentation skills. The significance of the circles is to improve communication and strengthen teamwork in the workplace. 


Radek Kňava                                   
TPCA Press office