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Tag Archives: cars
Looking at Auto Manaufacturing in the USA
America’s Dirty War Against Manufacturing Bob Lutz, the former head of GM, says it was neither uncompetitive wages nor unions that drove the Big Three into decline. It was a management with its eye focused on the bottom line and the short term. That sentiment should be familiar to students of Deming (it is one of Deming’s 7 deadly diseases). It is sad that this bad management practices, short-term thinking, continues to do harm several decades later. Hopefully we can … Continue reading
Posted in Deming, Economics, Manufacturing
Tagged cars, Deming, economic data, economy, lean manufacturing, Manufacturing, Toyota, USA
1 Comment
Penske to Buy Saturn from GM
Penske to Buy Saturn from GM “When Saturn launched in the 1980s, it was the new, new thing, with the best dealer service and no-haggle pricing that put customers at ease,” said independent marketing consultant Dennis Keene. “But in recent years, it has just been another GM division, operating the same as Chevy or Pontiac, with nothing to differentiate it and a marketing message that keeps changing, so that people haven’t been able to get a handle on what the … Continue reading
Posted in Management, Manufacturing
Tagged cars, management, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Systems thinking
1 Comment
NUMMI, and GM’s Failure to Manage Effectively
Gipsie Ranney recently sent me an article on her thoughts on NUMMI and the current problems with the Big Three car makers to post to the Curious Cat Management Improvement Library. NUMMI is the plant that Toyota and General Motors run together as a joint venture. The article is excellent. The answer to a question asked by someone else on the tour was stunning to me. The person asked what kind of computerized inventory system they had at NUMMI. The … Continue reading
Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Manufacturing, quote, Respect, Systems thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS)
Tagged cars, curiouscat, Deming, lean manufacturing, Management Articles, Manufacturing, respect for people, Toyota, Toyota Production System (TPS)
2 Comments
Failure: Honda’s Secret to Success
Related: Honda has Never had Layoffs and has been Profitable Every Year – Inside Honda’s Brain – Curious Cat Engineering Blog
Honda has Never had Layoffs and has been Profitable Every Year
Engineers Rule, 2006 Longtime auto analyst John Casesa, who now runs a consulting company, says, “There’s not a company on earth that better understands the culture of engineering.” The strategy has worked thus far. Honda has never had an unprofitable year. It has never had to lay off employees. … The lean and compact Fukui, like all of his predecessors, is an engineer who started in R&D and later ran the subsidiary. While other auto chief-executives-to-be were punching keyboards in … Continue reading
Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Respect
Tagged cars, engineering, executive pay, Japan, layoffs, management
7 Comments
Invest in New Management Methods Not a Failing Company, 1986
Invest in New Management Methods Not a Failing Company by William Hunter, 1986 I predict American Motors will stop making cars in Wisconsin in the near future, whether or not the state’s money is used for a temporary propping-up operation. These competitors are beginning to understand how essential it is to take a long-term view of their businesses. Toyota, for example, took its top 40 managers on a two-day retreat to ponder what their corporation will look like in the … Continue reading
Posted in Management
Tagged Bill Hunter, cars, commentary, Economics, management, Manufacturing, quote, short term thinking, Toyota Production System (TPS), Wisconsin
Ford’s Camaçari Plant in Brazil
Brazil’s Camaçari plant is model for the future This state-of-the-art manufacturing complex in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia is not only the centerpiece of Ford’s Brazilian turnaround plan, it is also one of the most advanced automobile plants in the world. It is more automated than many of Ford’s U.S. factories, and leaner and more flexible than any other Ford facility. It can produce five different vehicle platforms at the same time and on the same line. … At … Continue reading
Posted in Innovation, Manufacturing, Respect, webcast
Tagged cars, Innovation, Manufacturing, Respect, South America, webcast
3 Comments
Outsourcing To America
Outsourcing To America [the broken link was removed] Toyota began operating in North America in the mid-1980s. It currently operates seven automotive plants there, four of which are in the U.S. A fifth plant is under production in Mississippi. Toyota employs 40,000 manufacturing employees in North America. In addition to the manufacture of cars and trucks, Toyota runs four unit factories in the U.S., where they produce such parts as engines, transmissions and wheels. Toyota also has a wholly owned … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management Articles, Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS)
Tagged cars, Manufacturing, Mexico, Toyota, USA
Deming Auto Repair
Here is an interesting example of an auto repair shop applying Deming’s ideas, AGCO Automotive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: In this section we hope to present our business philosophy, through a series of articles written by president Louis Altazan. Our strategy of continual improvement is based on the work of Dr. W. Edwards Deming and has been incredibly successful for us. There is nothing we enjoy more than discussing our methods and invite all questions and comments. The site includes … Continue reading
Toyota’s Commitment
From Toyota’s blog, Living Up to Our Commitment We’ve received reports that on a small number of model-year 1995 to 2000 Tacomas, excessive corrosion of the frame has caused perforation of the metal. The reason for this, it appears, is that the frames of some of the 813,000 vehicles built during this time-frame may not have adequate corrosion protection. … Because of our oft-stated commitment to standing behind our products, we’re extending the rust-perforation warranty covering these trucks for a … Continue reading
Posted in Customer focus, Management, Toyota Production System (TPS)
Tagged blogs, cars, Customer focus, Deming, management, Toyota, Toyota Production System (TPS)
4 Comments
Inside Honda’s Brain
Inside Honda’s brain by Alex Taylor III why is Honda playing with robots? Or, for that matter, airplanes? Honda is building a factory in North Carolina to manufacture the Hondajet, a sporty twin-engine runabout that carries six passengers. Or solar energy? Honda has established a subsidiary to make and market thin-film solar-power cells. Or soybeans? Honda grows soybeans in Ohio so that it can fill up cargo containers being shipped back to Japan. The list goes on. All this sounds … Continue reading
Posted in Innovation, Management, Science
Tagged Asia, cars, engineering, Innovation, Japan, research
1 Comment
Car Powered Using Compressed Air
Jules Verne predicted cars would run on air. The Air Car is making that a reality. The car would be powered by compressed air. Certainly seem like an interesting idea. Air car ready for production: Refueling is simple and will only take a few minutes. That is, if you live nearby a gas station with custom air compressor units. The cost of a fill up is approximately $2.00. If a driver doesn’t have access to a compressor station, they will … Continue reading
Posted in Fun, India, Innovation, Lean thinking, Management, Science, Toyota Production System (TPS)
Tagged cars, cool, engineering, France, global, green, India, Innovation, lean manufacturing, Manufacturing, pollution, Toyota
11 Comments
Toyota Presses On
At Toyota, a Global Giant Reaches for Agility With plants in 27 countries, more new factories under construction and workers speaking languages that include Russian and Turkish, Toyota’s top executives are trying a difficult balancing act – replicating the company’s success and operating principles in other countries while ceding more control to these new outposts at the same time. … Next year, it expects to sell more than 10.4 million cars worldwide, double what it sold in 2000. … At … Continue reading
Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Toyota Production System (TPS)
Tagged cars, global, Japan, Manufacturing, Toyota, Toyota Production System (TPS)
Good Customer Service Example
IRA Toyota – Milford; Great Service [the broken link was removed] I was pleasantly surprised to find a “Service wizard” available. You create an account, specify the standard details about the car (make, model, year, mileage). If you add the VIN, they will be able to provide and maintain additional details. The slickest part of the wizard was the capability to pick a service and schedule a date. Depending upon what service you picked, the calendar changed. This wasn’t any … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Customer focus, IT, Management, Quality tools, Systems thinking
Tagged cars, customer service, lean manufacturing
1 Comment
Traffic Congestion and a Non-Solution
Topic: Management Improvement, Problem Solving I read, Study: Nation’s Traffic Jams Worsening [the broken link was removed], today on CNN.com. That same headline could have appeared in newspapers every day for the last few years. For decades traffic congestion has been a problem in American cities and one that has continued to get worse. The typical proposed solution is to increase the number of roads. The theory behind this solution is not normally stated but, I believe, it amounts to: … Continue reading
Posted in Creativity, Management, Systems thinking
Tagged Ackoff, cars, Creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, Systems thinking
8 Comments
Big Failed Three, Meet the Successful Eight
Big Three, Meet the “Little Eight” The 1,300-acre plant, in which Toyota has invested $5.3 billion, produces a car roughly every minute. Georgetown’s population has doubled. In fields where farmers once grew tobacco and raised cattle, McMansions, apartment complexes, and condominiums have sprouted. A 150,000-square-foot upscale retail center is rising near the Toyota plant, the better to serve its 7,000 employees. … In San Antonio, the Toyota Tundra plant lay idle for three months this fall, though Toyota hasn’t laid … Continue reading →