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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16738 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 10:07 AM
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 05, 2008 8:26 am) I've been in engineering since 75 and could you please tell what exactly they engineered and or patents their industry hold? Frankly, I don't think you're going to grasp the point the point of my post, even if I tell you, but let me try. What I have said is really a stating that I saw a real-world demonstration of the American-born (by Demmings) Japanese-applied concept of Kaizen. Kaizen thinking is characterized by many, small improvements over time. It contrasts with the major leaps seen in an industry when radical new technology or production methods have been introduced. Over the years, the sheer volume of Kaizen improvements can lead to major advances, but most changes are small improvements. Continuous improvement isn't just for the assembly folks. It's for you engineers too. It is a philosophical approach, and it can be applied to any engineering process regardless of the product being made. As a practical demonstration of the difference in philosophical approaches, let us look at the introductions of the Volt and the Prius. The Prius was introduced quietly and has been slowly improved over a series of models. It's technology wasn't a big leap as it used currently available technologies, by integrating them. Toyota lost money on them selling them below cost during the development phase, but because there weren't that many of them on the market, the loss wasn't that large. Now, after continuous small improvements the design is good, and the market is ready, costs are down, and profits are good. The Volt is, instead, announced with great fanfare, creating expectations. It (will be) built on radical new technology that hasn't been fully tested or developed, and so far, hasn't even been completed. It is being hurried into mass production - large numbers on the market as soon as they can be built, and since the cost is high ($40K, GM is cutting little corners where they can, to keep costs down. Interestingly enough this is the same approach GM took with the Vega. Do you think things might have been different for the Vega if they'd put 5,000 cars in the market for a year and discovered the engine and rust problems while the numbers were small? Instead they took their radical new technology and rammed the sausage maker into full speed ahead. Which one of these approaches is more likely to produce a large scale failure and which is more likely to produce a more desirable and reliable product?
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Replying to: lokki (Dec 05, 2008 8:03 am) Regards, OW |
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Dec 05, 2008 10:47 am)  Regards, OW |
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Replying to: lokki (Dec 05, 2008 10:47 am) I'm aware of kaizen events, muda, and all the zen fecal matter. Fact of the matter is that they have been using them in the Big Three for years now. They too have green belts and black belts. I've read many Lean books and seen their impact of large/small, union/non-union, and so forth. You my friend fail to see the real family ties Japanese companies have with their employees/families. Then you also fail to mention their views of CEO pay as do all there large corporations. You just take the ideas you see fitting and discard the rest. Its their culture and not Deming. I've been face to face with these Japanese and at their plants. Then again too, I've been to the UAW plants, including the Saturn experiment, modeled after the Japanese. Didn't take them long to remove that no lay off clause in that contract. Interestingly enough this is the same approach GM took with the Vega. 3.5 million sludge engines and your still back in the 70s. My friend LTV steel, a union company, made the rust free steel, which rice burners enjoy today.
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Replying to: marsha7 (Dec 04, 2008 9:42 am)
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Replying to: jipster (Dec 05, 2008 11:36 am) |
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Replying to: jipster (Dec 05, 2008 11:36 am)
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Replying to: nwng (Dec 05, 2008 11:49 am) |
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Replying to: lokki (Dec 05, 2008 10:47 am)
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Replying to: lemko (Dec 05, 2008 8:15 am) Buick has built some real ugly cars, along with Cadillac. Recent Buicks I like the looks of. |
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