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The difference between US and foreign manufacturers became apparent
during the US automaker bailout deliberations. A recent story
highlighted the powerful difference how a company chooses to organize
the many interrelated steps in its process to deliver a product or
service.
A government mandated change in one of the safety features for the US
car market impacted the manufacturing process. Various work teams at a
US Toyota plant came together to discuss ways of meeting the new
requirement. Within the week, the change was made official and
implemented from engineering to the plant floor.
In the meantime, various engineering and production groups at a UAW
(United Auto Worker –USA) plant met separately to determine the impact
of the mandated change. This required several levels of authorization
before groups could begin to work collaboratively. It took weeks
before the new changes could be made at the plant level.
While much should be made of the US’s improvement in quality, foreign
automakers produce a superior product (as perceived by the customer in
numerous customer surveys) with less average labor hours and overall
cost. If a firm desires a competitive advantage through investing in
improving their process from design to delivery look at the lessons
coming out of the auto industry.
Reflections
Quote
58% of U.S. car owners believe that foreign manufacturers make the
best quality cars, yet only 17% stated that they actually preferred to
buy foreign as opposed to American.
-- According, to a new poll from the Associated Press and AOL Autos (www.autos.aol.com)
Next E-courager – My Job My Process
Issue22-7P's-Process-week2
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