Not only has Ford rejected the government bailout, they recently reopened a Cleveland engine plant. I'm not an economist, but it looks as though Ford may have used a little more foresight than GM-Government Motors.
The Cleveland Engine Plant has been outfitted with a flexible manufacturing system for powertrains, featuring modern machine tools that easily can be retooled and reprogrammed to perform new tasks with minimal disruption to production.
"One of the main benefits of this system is its flexibility," Allman said. "This system allows us to make changes within the plant without disrupting production. This is a complete change from the old way of doing things."
A new, internal database will ensure quality is built into the engine from the outset. During production, each engine built at the plant will have a sophisticated engine "birth history" that allows plant engineers to track every stage of production.
The engine history, maintained in a microchip database, will include hundreds of metrics and allows engineers to trace the precise path taken by any part so any quality control issue can be traced back to its source.
To prepare for production of the EcoBoost engine, the work force participated in an intensive quality training program. Employees learned basic manufacturing operations while gaining knowledge on how to manage their own equipment and work area through "manufacturing work teams" at the plant.
"This training approach not only delivers the technical training to the work force but also empowers workers," said Kevin Heck, Cleveland Engine No. 1 manufacturing manager. "You're turning over the keys to the hourly team members to let them do what they need to do to get their jobs done. Each employee, working under a team leader, is responsible for his or her area and they work as a team to deliver a high-quality engine."
The final phase of training provides employees an opportunity to upgrade skill sets for machining technicians and production team leaders. The plant, working with Cuyahoga Community College, will provide four weeks of onsite classroom training for this purpose, and each student will receive 10 credit hours toward an associate's degree in Advanced Manufacturing Technology.
"We're working together to keep our site competitive," said Mike Gammella, President, UAW Local 1250. "We have identified and implemented processes and practices to improve quality. The outstanding work force is doing everything it takes to keep the Cleveland site flexible and competitive. "