Toyota’s Woven City Project

Posted: July 7th, 2022

Module title
Advanced Project and Logistics Management

CRN
52915 / 52917

Level
7

Assessment title

Group Assignment
Title: Toyota’s Woven City Project
Toyota’s Woven City Project is an innovative city that is being built as a “living laboratory” for a wide range of interconnected technologies. The project aims to create a natural and man-made ecosystem that supports both people and the environment, with a focus on sustainable energy, smart homes, autonomous vehicles, robotics, AI, digital health, and more. Woven City will be built on a 175-acre site situated at the foothills of Mount Fuji in Japan, which was previously the site of one of Toyota’s factories. The project is seen as an opportunity for Toyota to test autonomous technology and smart city infrastructure together, as well as to expand its business beyond cars.

The Woven City Project is an exciting opportunity for logistics and project management experts to get involved in a groundbreaking initiative that is pushing the boundaries of what is possible. As part of the assessment task associated with the project, groups of six students are randomly allocated to form teams, with each team responsible for preparing a video presentation and report on the logistics and supply chain challenges and opportunities associated with the project.

The assessment task requires students to investigate and identify potential challenges and vulnerabilities of the logistics and supply chains associated with any aspect of the Woven City lab. They are then required to provide recommendations for how these challenges can be addressed and produce a project plan to demonstrate how these recommendations and solutions can be implemented. The assessment also asks students to discuss how a project management approach can facilitate an effective and efficient implementation of the proposed recommendations and changes in the supply chain and logistics of Woven City.

The Woven City Project is an exciting initiative that presents a unique opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and skills in logistics and project management to a real-world scenario. With the world of logistics and supply chain management rapidly evolving, projects like Woven City provide an excellent opportunity to explore new technologies and solutions that can improve efficiency, safety, and sustainability in the field.

Bibliography – Homework Help With Writing Assignment – Bibliography
Ishikawa, M. (2020). Toyota’s Woven City: A blueprint for a connected future. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/toyota-woven-city-smart-sustainable-future/

Akers, T. (2020). Toyota breaks ground on high-tech city for future living. CNN Business. https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/03/tech/toyota-woven-city-sustainable-living/index.html

Toyota Motor Corporation. (2019). Toyota announces “Woven City” at CES 2020. https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/toyota/30648463.html
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Weighting within module
This assessment is worth 100%

Submission deadline date and time

Module Leader
Assessment set by:

Assessment task details and instructions
This is a group assessment and you are expected to work as a team.
You and your team are responsible for preparing a presentation and a report on the subject of Projects and Logistics.

Team Formation
For the purpose of this assignment you will be randomly allocated by Blackboard to form teams of 6 students; once allocated it won’t be possible to transfer between teams. Details of your team membership will be on Blackboard. You are strongly advised to contact your team members and initiate the assessment collaboration as soon as possible.
All team members will receive the grade awarded to the team unless one or more members clearly has not contributed, if that is the case please inform the APLM module leader

How to submit:
VIDEO PRESENTATION (Formative) :
You are required to create a video presentation and submit on Blackboard by:
Friday 24th March 2023, 16:00 –Video Presentation Submission Deadline
The video will need to be no more than five (5) minutes in duration.
Only one submission is required per group
It’s important that you adhere to the guidelines in the following support page which has guidance on creating and submitting a video for assessment.
https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills/university-assessments

FINAL REPORT (Summative) :
One file is to be submitted on the Advanced Project and Logistics Management FINAL VERSION Blackboard space. This should be a Word file (maximum length 5000 words) by:

Final Report Submission Deadline
Only one submission is required per group.

You can check the similarity report of your DRAFT submission by uploading your work within the Assessment Support area using this link

Assessment brief
Assessment brief

Step one – Read the assessment case study and watch the video

An introduction to Woven City – Toyota’s Living Laboratory
The innovative city is advertised as a “living laboratory” and will be home to a wide array of interconnected technologies such as robotics, AI, autonomous vehicles, IoT, smart homes, smart construction and manufacturing, digital health, and sustainable energy.
One of the main aims is to create a combination of natural and man-made ecosystem that supports both people and the environment. This will include multi-generational assisted living, where people of all ages will gather to solve the puzzle of designing a truly inclusive city.
The prototype is named Woven City and will be built on a 175-acre land situated at the foothills of Mount Fuji in Japan. This place was previously the site of one of the Toyota factories. The company sees this experiment as an opportunity to test autonomous technology and smart city infrastructure together. It will also help in expanding its business beyond cars.
For Toyota, Woven City is not only a bold leap forward but a tribute to what has come before. This site in the city of Susono in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan was once home to the Higashi Fuji Plant, where Toyota led Japan’s motorization and manufactured many of its iconic cars from 1967 to 2020. Woven City is an unprecedented opportunity for Toyota to build on this exceptional legacy and develop life-enriching ideas for the future.
Woven City will also be used for exploring ways to expand how mobility can enrich humanity. The researchers will test ideas related to the mobility of information, goods, and people in fields such as food and agriculture, transportation, energy, healthcare, education, entertainment, and more.
Construction on Woven City has already begun, and a variety of mobility-related pilot experiments are scheduled to begin in 2024 and 2025. The results of these studies will inform how to improve the city and further its progress. This approach will allow to continually test new mobility initiatives —a never-ending improvement cycle for an ever-evolving city.

Please watch this Video by Akio Toyoda, CEO and President of Toyota

Woven City Project and Logistics considerations
It is clear that Supply Chains of the future need to be different and be more resilient, to address vulnerabilities and unexpected challenges.
A global shift in transportation thinking is occurring and companies need to fully embrace this and develop sustainable and flexible supply chains by enhancing the ways that people, goods, finances and information move seamlessly. The focus is on improving the safety and efficiency of daily operations, moving goods from one place to another, receiving packages, and virtually connecting stakeholders within the supply chain.
Supply chain management, logistics management and knowledge-sharing to business start-up and expansion assistance, a wide range of materials and resources will need to be provided to the developers of Woven City. By taking advantage of this support, developers will be able rapidly to develop solutions inspired by the situations that stakeholders come across in their daily operations.

Step two – Understand the task and prepare a video presentation (due on 24th March 2023)
Your Task
Your group has been appointed as Logistics and Project Management experts for the ‘’Woven city’’ project. Your task is to:
Investigate and identify potential challenges and vulnerabilities of the logistics and supply chains of your choice on any aspect of the “Woven City” lab.
Provide recommendations of how these challenges can be addressed.
Produce a project plan to demonstrate how these recommendations and solutions can be implemented.
Discuss how a project management approach can facilitate an effective and efficient implementation of your proposed recommendation and changes in the supply chain and logistics of Woven city

As we increasingly live in a world of asymmetric communication, you are required to create a video presentation. Your video presentation will be shown at the next meeting of the board of directors and will need to be submitted on Blackboard by 24th March 2023 at 4pm.
The members of the board are looking for the following layout:
A summary of our investigation phase (An Executive Summary, in video presentation form)
A statement that summarises the problems /issues you have identified for Toyota’s Woven City project related to supply chain and logistics;
The relevant theories that your team will consider in the investigation phase;
Your schedule of work;
The Risks identified with your approach and a mitigation strategy.
Your video should be very concise; your slot at the board meeting is only five minutes long. You should cover all five topics in this time. The Akio Toyoda, CEO and board of directors are very keen on team involvement, they will be looking for all your team to contribute to the presentation.

Step three – Prepare and submit a report to the board of directors

Your report should be no more than 5000 words and use diagrams/illustrations/tables/graphs etc., to demonstrate the application of your project and logistics management skillsets. The outline of the report should include:
An Executing Summary for your proposal
A set of tasks that apply the course material to the investigation phase of the project. This should include relevant material, fully referenced, along with critical reasoning for its inclusion; it must be applicable to a specific item or point in the case study.
The key points raised in your video presentation having taken into account the feedback provided;
A timeline schedule showing task timings and dependencies.

You will need to take the following into account when completing your assignment/report:
Quality of a relevant literature review that helps inform your discussion;
Clarity of argument and integration of different components in relevance to Projects and/or a Logistics context;
Allocation of credit and sources used; (have you included references and citations to the material you have used?);
Use of examples, figures, tables, illustrations and statistics that indicate wider/independent reading;
Quality of executive summary (does it give a brief complete summary of your paper for an executive to read?);
Overall report presentation and structure including spelling and grammar;
Adherence to nominated word limit and time.

Please follow an industrial report format. Therefore the report should include:
Cover page that details:
Project title;
Group number;
Member Names and Student IDs
Executive Summary; (not part of the word count)
Contents page;
Introduction;
Main body based on the thematic areas. In sections and sub sections;
Discussion and Conclusion;
References / Bibliography – Homework Help With Writing Assignment – Bibliography;
The proposal should be page numbered. Please note if you are uncertain on how to present and structure a report then visit the university library and ask for assistance. You are advised to use diagrams, illustrations, tables, graphics etc. wherever these are helpful, and remember that these do not count towards your word limit. If you do use these, please do not put them in the appendices if they are part of your discussion. Appendices are the appropriate places to put supporting material, however, remember if the reader is satisfied with the main points of your discussion; the supporting information within the appendices may not even be reviewed.
You must cite all sources on which you have relied; for example, textbooks, journal articles, web pages etc. using the APA 7th (Harvard) Style. If you do not cite all sources, then you may be accused of plagiarism, and that may endanger your success in passing the module. If you are in any doubt about how to reference your work, please obtain guidance from the library and/or your academic librarian(s) for this module

Assessed intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:
1. Evaluate, critique and discuss the importance of innovation in Logistics and Project Management.
2. Apply theoretical ideas to practice via real scenario and live case studies.
3. Implement and critically evaluate advancements in Project Management and Logistics.
4. Demonstrate a sound understanding of the importance of Logistics and Projects Integration in the development and maintenance of sustainable and global organisations operating in complex market environments.

Transferable/Key Skills and other attributes
On completion you will have had the opportunity to:
1. Work independently and with others in analysing and presenting solutions to real life problems.
2. Communicate effectively through a variety of media to different audiences.
3. Make decisions in complex and unpredictable situations using tools and techniques appropriate to the module.
4. Evaluate, critique and present research findings.

Module Aims
Evaluate contemporary research in Logistics and Project management taking into account the interdisciplinary nature of the subjects.
Analyse critically advances in Project and Programme management focusing on value generation including Agile, Lean and Benefits Management.
Critically review world-class innovations and emerging technologies in Logistics(i.e. Additive Manufacturing, Big data analytics, drones etc)
Critically review world-class innovations and emerging technologies in Project, Portfolio and Programme (3P) i.e. Virtual technologies and augmented reality environments, Output driven Project management (Benefits Realisation, Target Value)
To prepare students for further research and application of Logistics and Project management in their Business

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:
Recognize the role and significance of coherent problem statements and project plans and definitions ahead of project delivery.
Critically analyse and demonstrate reasoning for the selection and application of supply chain design and analysis techniques in specific circumstances.

Word Count
The final report for this assessment should be up to 5,000 words.
Your word count is from the introduction to conclusion sections. Therefore, it does not include title page, contents page, reference section, appendices etc. If the assignment exceeds these limits; the work in excess of 5,000 words is not marked.

Feedback arrangements
You can expect to receive formative feedback on your group video presentation by 6th of April 2023. On the 17th of April as part of the lecture we will also provide collective feedback on the assessment presentations.
Summative feedback on your final report will be provided via Blackboard within 3 weeks of your submission.
Subsequently if further clarification is needed you could make an appointment with a member of the APLM teaching team.

Plagiarism and Late submissions
You are required to follow the University’s regulations regarding plagiarism and citing sources and references used.

Late submission will be accepted up to 7 days after the submission deadline.

All work submitted late will be capped at the pass mark of 50%, there is no sliding scale.

Lecturers are not able to give extensions.

Student Facing Policies and Procedures

Assessment Information
If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find out more here.
Personal Mitigating Circumstances
If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure here.
Personal Tutor/Student Progression Administrator
If you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Academic Progress Tutor or your Student Progression Administrator.

Reassessment
If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will need to resubmit. Details and guidance for resubmissions will be issued to you by our Admin team following the completion of your four modules of your programme.
For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances, this will be your replacement assessment attempt. Students should be aware that there is no late submission period at reassessment (this includes those students who have an accepted PMC request from a previous attempt).