Comments on: A Different Take on Lean and Delphi http://www.leanblog.org/2005/10/different-take-on-lean-and-delphi/ Mark Graban's leanblog.org - Lean Healthcare, Lean Thinking, Lean Manufacturing, Toyota Production System Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:59:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Anonymous http://www.leanblog.org/2005/10/different-take-on-lean-and-delphi/#comment-438 Anonymous Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:22:00 +0000 http://leanblog.bigbigdesign.net/2005/10/a-different-take-on-lean-and-delphi/#comment-438 It's incestuous. For years former CEO JT Battenburg and Womack pursued a strategy that never attacked the problem of selling over sixty percent of Delphi product to GM at less than breakeven prices. Nobody wanted to take on the GM contract and raise prices, and Delphi couldn't pick up new customers fast enough to fix the Income Statement. Outrageous. But Womack took heavy consulting fees and JT retired rich. Go figure. It’s incestuous. For years former CEO JT Battenburg and Womack pursued a strategy that never attacked the problem of selling over sixty percent of Delphi product to GM at less than breakeven prices. Nobody wanted to take on the GM contract and raise prices, and Delphi couldn’t pick up new customers fast enough to fix the Income Statement. Outrageous. But Womack took heavy consulting fees and JT retired rich. Go figure.

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]]> By: Anonymous http://www.leanblog.org/2005/10/different-take-on-lean-and-delphi/#comment-138 Anonymous Thu, 20 Oct 2005 13:43:00 +0000 http://leanblog.bigbigdesign.net/2005/10/a-different-take-on-lean-and-delphi/#comment-138 There are a variety of bloggers that are taking on Womack's latest missive on Delphi. See also Bill Waddell and Kevin Meyer at the Superfactory Blog: <br/>http://superfactory.typepad.com/blog/2005/10/why_delphi_is_i.html There are a variety of bloggers that are taking on Womack’s latest missive on Delphi. See also Bill Waddell and Kevin Meyer at the Superfactory Blog:
http://superfactory.typepad.com/blog/2005/10/why_delphi_is_i.html

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]]> By: Anonymous http://www.leanblog.org/2005/10/different-take-on-lean-and-delphi/#comment-137 Anonymous Wed, 19 Oct 2005 20:52:00 +0000 http://leanblog.bigbigdesign.net/2005/10/a-different-take-on-lean-and-delphi/#comment-137 Unfortunately Delphi had great "fake lean." All the tools and trappings, but none of the meat including development of people. I worked in several plants as a sensei for them. At first I thought they were like Toyota (I worked there), but on closer look they did not understand the philosophy. It was all show.<br/>The plants that won Shingo prizes SHIP quality at 3 ppm or so, but when I asked them if their operations produced at that level I was told "no, it is around 20,000." I actually saw one at 120,000! They used containment and multiple inspections (not very lean) to get to six sigma level. They did it off line in the back of the building so maybe Womack's tour group was not taken there!<br/><br/>There are underlying issues here that lean would not help. One is that they do not manage for the long-term. That is a hard thing to change. They are lean tools focused, but have not learned the soul of the process. Unfortunately Delphi had great “fake lean.” All the tools and trappings, but none of the meat including development of people. I worked in several plants as a sensei for them. At first I thought they were like Toyota (I worked there), but on closer look they did not understand the philosophy. It was all show.
The plants that won Shingo prizes SHIP quality at 3 ppm or so, but when I asked them if their operations produced at that level I was told “no, it is around 20,000.” I actually saw one at 120,000! They used containment and multiple inspections (not very lean) to get to six sigma level. They did it off line in the back of the building so maybe Womack’s tour group was not taken there!

There are underlying issues here that lean would not help. One is that they do not manage for the long-term. That is a hard thing to change. They are lean tools focused, but have not learned the soul of the process.

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