This month marks a pretty significant milestone, 50 years since Toyota first started selling cars in the U.S. A collection of articles:Toyota marks 50 years in U.S. Dallas Morning News It’s important to keep in mind that Toyota was hardly…
A poignant story showed up in the Washington Post during the recent GM strike that hits at the heart of the principle of respect for people. It came from the Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Management, required to work…
At Ford, the ‘Outsider’ Is Optimistic – WSJ.com There’s an interview with Ford CEO Alan Mulally today, we’ve featured him before on the blog (click the “Ford” link at the bottom of the post for more on the company). The…
Ford Adopts Focus Time – Detroit News By Andy Wagner: I have blogged before on the inefficiency of multi-tasking and the virtues of more single-piece flow in the engineering environment. Judging by this article, it looks like somebody at Ford…
Detroit News Article GM, Ford, and Chrysler are frequent targets here for their “beat up the suppliers” approach to supply chain management. Here’s some encouraging news for GM (and for their suppliers)… not such good news for Ford General Motors…
‘Lean Production’ May Also be a Lean Toward Injuries People getting hurt would be a good indicator of Lean As Misguidedly Executed. The above link is from the American Psychology Association of all places, and they are talking about physical…
In this Lean Blog Podcast episode, Jim Womack reflects on GM, Ford, and Toyota through the lens of Lean thinking–past, present, and future. He explains how Lean was coined at MIT, why it became misunderstood, and what leaders still get…
Detroit News Article In terms of initial vehicle quality, Ford Motor Co. is in a statistical dead-heat for second place with Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., according to a new study the Dearborn automaker plans to release…
Star-Telegram.com | 04/06/2007 | America’s Great Automotive Stuntmen Local car columnist Ed Wallace seems like a friendly curmudgeon. This week, he writes about Ford’s CEO Allan Mulally and his adventures at Village Ford (back in Dearborn). Wallace rightfully takes on…
New Detroit Woe: Makers of Parts Won’t Cut Prices – WSJ.com Wah, the latest complaint from the “Detroit Three” (formerly known as the “Big Three”) is that they are having trouble squeezing and stomping on their suppliers for lower prices.…
Desperate to Cut Costs, Ford Gets Union’s Help – WSJ.com Here’s an example of why you can never be satisfied. A key to Toyota’s success is the mindset that you’re always shooting for perfection (an article with some examples). Here’s…
tl;dr: The andon cord isn’t a tool–it’s a trust signal. Toyota’s thousands of line stops reflect psychological safety and leadership support. Ford’s rare pulls reflected fear and mistrust. Lean succeeds or fails on culture, not mechanics. In 2007, a BBC…