Finding Ways to Make Manufacturing "Smart"
Bankruptcy has meant some big changes in the way General Motors and Chrysler manufacture their cars and trucks.
As the opening speaker at this year's Management Briefing Seminars, Chrysler's Scott Gaberding told the Traverse City gathering that "World Class Manufacturing" boils down to a simple principal, listen to your work force.
"We understand that this is a people business, and investing in our people is the best way to be competitive in making vehicles," said Gaberling, who's Senior Vice President, Manufacturing/World Class Manufacturing at Chrysler. Gaberling says suggestions from the work force have resulted in a full overhaul of the Jefferson North Plant, as well as changes at other Chrysler facilities.
Gaberling says Chrysler is on track to meet targets, which include a thirty per cent reduction in injuries, an eight per cent reduction in operating costs, a ten per cent improvement in productivity and a fifteen per cent improvement in first time quality.
"The good news is we're seeing results already from a number of these projects," said Gaberding, "Some of these plants have progressed amazingly far in the last few months."
At General Motors, Vice President of Manufacturing and Labor Relations, Diana Tremblay says they've found ways to rapidly shift production to meet changing demand, and ways to make money on every product they build.
An example Tremblay used was General Motors decision to move production of the Chevrolet Aveo small car from South Korea to the Orion plant in Oakland County.
"No other manufacturer has attempted to build a true small car platform in the U.S., citing that labor costs are too high to make the business model work," said Tremblay. "Working with the UAW, we have taken on that challenge.
These changes used as an example of how change has permeated General Motors at all levels.
"Another big change, which I touched on earlier to one of, 'No, and let me give you all the reasons why,' to one of, 'Yes, we can figure that out," said Tremblay.
