Excellent news Paul. I guess that's why the domestics have closed the gap
(and sometimes surpassed) the imports in initial quality. How long have you
been there? Was there a time when that policy wasn't the norm?

How about the other issues mentioned in the Time magazine article? (ie-line
workers with broader job classifications and training to do preventive
maintenance). Can an assembly worker change a fuse, for instance...or does
this require a "skilled tradesman"? If Ford, GM, and Chrysler's unions are
allowing these things now, then kudos to them.


Here's an excerpt:

"But job classifications at transplant factories are broader. Line workers
are trained in a variety of tasks - say, spot welding as well as interior
assembly - and they rotate jobs frequently. They're less susceptible to
boredom and repetitive-stress injuries. They're also trained to do
preventive maintenance. At Toyota plants, every assembly-line worker has the
authority to stop the line if he or she spots, say, a flaw in a windshield.
More important, workers are encouraged by management to do so.
The long and often bitter relationship between the Big Three and the UAW
means that their work practices are rooted not in mutual trust but in a
system of sometimes picky rules. A "skilled tradesman" may be required to
change a fuse in an assembly-line machine, a task that an assembly worker
could easily be trained to perform. Work rules differ from plant to plant
because agreements are negotiated with local union leaders. If a tradesman
notices a line worker fiddling with equipment, he may file a grievance,
claiming that his job is being undercut by a lower-paid employee."



"Paul Schilter" paulschilter@comcast,dot,net wrote in message
...

"NOYB" wrote in message
link.net...

I attribute the quality differences to several things. If you read the
article, you saw where it said Cadillac is #2 in initial
quality...second
only to Lexus (toyota). They attribute it to Cadillac's recent adoption
of
"flexible assembly"...things like the ability of any line-worker to stop
the
line dead if he/she sees any quality issue or defect. Unions have so
far
prevented this in most of the factories they have a presence in. That's
the
main thing I attribute the quality differences to. It costs $300 to 500
more per vehicle to make a Chrysler, Ford, or GM car. Obviously, that
difference has to be made up somewhere...and it probably is coming off
of
the quality of the parts/materials.

NOYB,
At Ford's Romeo Engine Plant, any worker who sees a defect is
"expected"
to stop the line. I work there, and the last thing we want to produce is
a
faulty product. It comes down to job pride and job security. I'm an
electrician there and I can tell you that quality is job one.
Paul