Today’s episode #259 is Part 2 of a discussion I started with Steve Bera in episode #256. Steve was one of the original 16 “NUMMI Commandos” that General Motors sent to work with Toyota in the 1980s, as discussed in the…
I’m really excited to have Steve Bera as my guest for episode #256 of the podcast. I read about him as he was featured prominently in a chapter of the 1994 Pulitzer-Prize winning book Comeback: The Fall & Rise of…
Chapter 8 is written by Bob Rush, who currently works as a Lean Manufacturing Group Leader at Tesla Motors. Tesla, of course, is in the building that was the former NUMMI factory...
TL;DR: A re-aired episode of This American Life on NUMMI highlights enduring lessons about leadership, learning, and Lean. While critics like Labor Notes frame Lean as “management by stress,” my experience inside GM–and later in healthcare–points to management systems, not…
Listen My guest for episode #209 is George Friesen, Business Practice Leader for Lean Transformations in the Workforce Solutions Group at St. Louis Community College. In this episode, we talk about his early experiences at the GM/Toyota NUMMI plant, why candor and trust…
I was able to tour the NUMMI factory in 2005, which I really enjoyed (see my series of blog posts here). NUMMI was, of course, a joint venture between Toyota and GM (as John Shook talked about recently at the…
Surprising news today from California… from the WSJ. Toyota and Tesla are partnering up! Tesla Motors Inc. said it is partnering with Toyota Motors Inc. to make electric cars at a recently shuttered auto plant in Fremont, Calif., in a…
TL;DR: NPR’s “End of the Line” on NUMMI reminds us that performance problems weren’t caused by “bad workers,” but by bad management systems. The same people who sabotaged cars under GM built world-class quality under Toyota. My experience with a…
It’s been long rumored, but is now confirmed by Toyota that they are going to stop production at their ground breaking NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA. Toyota will move production to other plants, BusinessWeek reports. It is a sad day,…
Toyota to end output at GM jv plant in March: report | Reuters The WSJ reports that Toyota is going to decide by the end of August. Even with sales picking up, this data point doesn’t look good: Toyota’s North…
Report: Toyota to liquidate its stake in Fremont’s NUMMI plant – San Jose Mercury News Toyota has not confirmed, but reports say NUMMI will be over after a 25 year run. Toyota Motor Corp. has decided it will dissolve its…
After 25 years, GM ditches NUMMI tie-up with Toyota In the news this afternoon: PRESS RELEASE: 2009-06-29 GM Media Statement Regarding GM’s Ownership Stake in NUMMI Attributable to Troy Clarke, president, GM North America “As part of its long-term viability…
