vampy
Mar 28, 2002, 06:23 PM
: Please help me I need ur reactions for the two articles. Thank You very much
1. The Yankee Samurai
It all began when the first truck engines marked “Komatsu” and “Nissan” appeared on a California dock. Soon after, calls were received from good customers such as Navistar and Freightliner, telling Cummins that they were trying out these Japanese medium-truck en-gines.
Cummins, a company that held almost 60% of the US heavy-duty diesel-truck engine mar-ket, had a lot to lose, After all, if the Japanese were gaining momentum in the medium-engine market, the heavy-engine market could be their next target. To protect themselves, Cummins decided to become more competitive. They cut their prices 10% to 40%. That was the easy part.
Next came cutting and simultaneously dealing with inflation. Costs needed to be cut by a minimum of 33%, and this was no easy task.
But Cummins decided to learn from the Japanese and studied their production methods. They found that US accounting systems tended to hide certain costs. Cummins also discov-ered that by using more flexible machinery, they could reduce their inventory from 60 days’ supply down to 3 or 4 day’s supply.
Now it was time to tackle their big item, cutting material costs, which represented 50% of the production budget. Cummins turned to their supplier for suggestions. Could they help? Yes. It turned out that no one had ever asked before. In 3 years, Cummins was able to lower material costs an impressive 18%. Relationships with suppliers have gone from adver-sarial to
cooperative. In the Cummins’s chairman’s own words, “We’re trying to do everything with our suppliers that we want to do with our customers.”
2. A Job at Carrier Is Like Applying for College
On a pothole-filled road across from a chicken processor in the remote town of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, sits a Carrier Corp. plant that could be blueprint for the future of US manufactur-ing.
The sleek, spotless plant looks more like an insurance office than a factory. Full of automa-tion, with a lean work force of only 150, quiet enough to hear a whisper, it is “probably cleaner than most of our houses,” says Fred Cobb, a Carrier worker.
This plant, however, is distinguished by its workers, who are a breed apart from most fac-tory workers. Instead of knuckling under to foreign competition, Carrier, a world-class sup-plier of air conditioners, is opening small plants that require small, educated work forces. Job applicants at Carrier must complete a grueling course. The selection process results in a job for only 1 of every 16 applicants, and yields a top-quality work force.
The application process starts with a standard state test for applicants who already hold high school diplomas. Only those scoring in the top third advance to having their references checked. Then applicants are interviewed by managers and assembly-line workers to see how well they would fit in.
Those who survive the interviews enter a six-week course. For five nights a week plus Saturdays, applicants learn blueprint reading, math, computer skills, and quality control. They still receive no assurance of a job at Carrier—and they do not get paid!
But if hired, they have a say in how the plant is run and have unusual authority. They can shut down production if they spot a problem and can order their own supplies. Carrier and the workers at this plant have found a way to build and maintain teamwork while improving productivity.
:rolleyes:
1. The Yankee Samurai
It all began when the first truck engines marked “Komatsu” and “Nissan” appeared on a California dock. Soon after, calls were received from good customers such as Navistar and Freightliner, telling Cummins that they were trying out these Japanese medium-truck en-gines.
Cummins, a company that held almost 60% of the US heavy-duty diesel-truck engine mar-ket, had a lot to lose, After all, if the Japanese were gaining momentum in the medium-engine market, the heavy-engine market could be their next target. To protect themselves, Cummins decided to become more competitive. They cut their prices 10% to 40%. That was the easy part.
Next came cutting and simultaneously dealing with inflation. Costs needed to be cut by a minimum of 33%, and this was no easy task.
But Cummins decided to learn from the Japanese and studied their production methods. They found that US accounting systems tended to hide certain costs. Cummins also discov-ered that by using more flexible machinery, they could reduce their inventory from 60 days’ supply down to 3 or 4 day’s supply.
Now it was time to tackle their big item, cutting material costs, which represented 50% of the production budget. Cummins turned to their supplier for suggestions. Could they help? Yes. It turned out that no one had ever asked before. In 3 years, Cummins was able to lower material costs an impressive 18%. Relationships with suppliers have gone from adver-sarial to
cooperative. In the Cummins’s chairman’s own words, “We’re trying to do everything with our suppliers that we want to do with our customers.”
2. A Job at Carrier Is Like Applying for College
On a pothole-filled road across from a chicken processor in the remote town of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, sits a Carrier Corp. plant that could be blueprint for the future of US manufactur-ing.
The sleek, spotless plant looks more like an insurance office than a factory. Full of automa-tion, with a lean work force of only 150, quiet enough to hear a whisper, it is “probably cleaner than most of our houses,” says Fred Cobb, a Carrier worker.
This plant, however, is distinguished by its workers, who are a breed apart from most fac-tory workers. Instead of knuckling under to foreign competition, Carrier, a world-class sup-plier of air conditioners, is opening small plants that require small, educated work forces. Job applicants at Carrier must complete a grueling course. The selection process results in a job for only 1 of every 16 applicants, and yields a top-quality work force.
The application process starts with a standard state test for applicants who already hold high school diplomas. Only those scoring in the top third advance to having their references checked. Then applicants are interviewed by managers and assembly-line workers to see how well they would fit in.
Those who survive the interviews enter a six-week course. For five nights a week plus Saturdays, applicants learn blueprint reading, math, computer skills, and quality control. They still receive no assurance of a job at Carrier—and they do not get paid!
But if hired, they have a say in how the plant is run and have unusual authority. They can shut down production if they spot a problem and can order their own supplies. Carrier and the workers at this plant have found a way to build and maintain teamwork while improving productivity.
:rolleyes: