Comments on Lean Blog: What Would You Ask the UAW?

Great response Mr. Graban!I think GM has done the ...

2007-06-27T12:43:00.000-05:00

Great response Mr. Graban!

I think GM has done the work to bridge the quality and productivity gap. Their huge mistake is not marketing it as such. The average 'non-automotive' person does not realize that. I also don't think they care.

OMG and an A+ for slipping in a Clinton/Lewinski comment.

This post seems to imply that GM hasn't discovered...

2007-06-22T05:36:00.000-05:00

This post seems to imply that GM hasn't discovered lean and GM is a laggard in productivity.

If you want to know what the UAW had to say about productivity and the Harbour report, it isn't hard to find it in a GM press release, Link and as an added bonus, you also get the statement of Buzz Hargrove of the Canadian Autoworkers Union:

“We’re pleased that UAW members continue to make such a positive impact on GM’s productivity as seen in the awards in this survey,” said UAW vice president Cal Rapson. “UAW members and UAW leadership are well aware of the importance of focusing on improving GM’s U.S. manufacturing productivity.”

Buzz Hargrove, president, CAW said today, "The results of the Harbour study just released are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the Canadian Auto Workers Union at GM plants. I congratulate these people for their ongoing commitment to making positive improvements in the workplace that benefit GM customers."

* In the most recent Harbour report, GM won 3 out of the 4 awards: Top Assembly, Engine and Transmission Plants in North America

* Since 1998, GM has closed the productivity gap with Toyota by nearly 85 percent

* Since 1998, GM has closed the vehicle assembly productivity gap with Toyota by approximately 99 percent

* Improves Overall Manufacturing Productivity by 2.5 Percent

[end info from GM press release]

As far as quality, if it took Japan 4 years to get past building junk after listening to Dr. Deming, how long does it take Americans to forgive and forget? GM is still being strung up and quartered for sins older than Bill Clinton's Monica Lewinski affair, which has long since been forgiven if not forgotten.

GM’s quality and warranty have improved to where the differences between manufacturers are minimal, and Toyota is far from the top of that survey.

GM is in the middle of one of the biggest turnarounds in industrial history. No victims, no excuses, just everyone needing to do their job, concentrating on things over which they have influence and control.

Yes, government policy has a big effect and unintended consequences in every area they touch. The real question is not whether lean will be enough to keep the Detroit 3 from going the way of Delphi; rather, if is whether the government is the solution or the problem. Whether it is the effects of CAFÉ on the limiting the customer's choice of vehicles (without reducing our dependence on foreign oil), or government health care limiting the patient's options for medical treatment, years from now, people are going to be looking back to when there was an American auto industry and when patients were not are the mercy of the government deciding who will be treated and who will die.

How much do you think the loss of markets share is...

2007-06-20T07:09:00.000-05:00

How much do you think the loss of markets share is due to quality and how much is due to poor design, styling, and marketing?

What can lean do for the latter?

My local paper, the New London Day, had this edito...

2007-06-19T19:59:00.000-05:00

My local paper, the New London Day, had this editorial piece today on the auto industry's opposition to new fuel economy standards.

Automakers Lack Can-do Spirit

Without saying it (or probably even knowing they were hinting at it), they hit on something that's relevant to the debate over exchange rates, subsidies, etc, and that is that a growing number of the American car buying public doesn't want what Detroit is making.

We, the buying public, are setting the market rate and conditions for vehicle sales, not the government. If Uncle Sam gave the Detroit 3 a $10,000 subsidy per car, would Detroit make a better car that we'd want to buy?

The editorial finishes with this statement: "if domestic automakers cannot figure out a way to build more efficient cars, foreign automakers will and the once-proud American auto industry will continue to lose market share."

It's all about hearing the voice of the customer and the Detroit 3 still have their fingers in their ears.