Were the guys that stopped the production line ever indirectly punished for being a squeaky wheel?
Perhaps they weren’t promoted?
Perhaps they didn’t get overtime?
Perhaps their next evaluation was unfavorable?
In my experience, blue collar guys who make waves usually have consequences to face
Were the guys that stopped the production line ever indirectly punished for being a squeaky wheel?
It’s now been in US manufacturers for 3+ decades. I would think that it’s working. And it’s NOT just in the automotive industry. Many other manufacturing businesses use it. It’s been proven to be a helpful tool in keeping quality.
Perhaps they weren't promoted?Perhaps they didn’t get overtime?
I have many relatives that work in different automotive plants in the US. One of my nephews stopped the line. He noticed a scaring in one of the transmission case assemblies. Turned out there was a broken drill bit a couple of stations before his that was causing the problem.He saw the problem on the first case…and pulled it off the line. The a second case came through with the exact same problem…and that’s when he stopped the line. If he didn’t notice it…it may not have been noticed until final assembly. He saved the company well over a million dollars. He got a nice bonus for that. And in less then a year was promoted to Foreman. He made the way up to General Manager when he was forced into retirement when the plant was closed.
@MineInNH
I’m glad to hear your relative had a good career
But there are still lots of industries in which making suggestions for improvements will kill your career, because the suggestions aren’t supposed to be coming from the grunts
But there are still lots of industries in which making suggestions for improvements will kill your career, because the suggestions aren't supposed to be coming from the grunts
And those companies are very short sighted. Just because some companies don’t practice it…doesn’t mean it’s not good.
And Chryco/GM/Ford and AMC did have problems when they first implemented the system. Some people took advantage of it. It took time for management to adjust. It took time for the workers to adjust. But it does work. We do much of our own manufacturing here at my company. We design and build telecom equipment. We’re not an assembly line. But at any time anyone working on the equipment can put a stop to the build - if they see a problem that needs immediate attention. It happens at least once a month. We’ve had a couple of people take advantage of it (they wanted to leave early on a Friday). But when it happens management has to step in to ensure they are doing the right thing. But those have been minimal.
Many years ago (I have been retired 16 years) we had a problem on an avionics box. I will just say it might or might not have had something to do with control of the Boeing 737/757, ahem. We asked the correct people to put a stop ship on it to fix the problem. They declined.
One day the collateral engineer brought me a letter and asked me to sign it. I said, “We can’t shut the unit down.”
He said, “Yes, we can. Just watch.” I signed it.
The letter said we were stopping ship on the produce to fix a problem, and included a description of the risk involved in not fixing it. Two people, neither of whom had the power to stop ship anything, signed it. He and I.
He cc;ed almost all company top management with the letter.
The unit stopped ship until it was fixed. Don understood corporate politics. Everyone knew we did not have the right to issue a stop ship. At the same time, no one had the courage to write a memo stating that, and to continue ship. They all knew if a plane went down, their name would be in all the newspapers as having forced sale of boxes believed to be in need of modification. Think O-ring failure on the space shuttle.
I worked there until I retired. He did not, but it had nothing to do with this incident.
I am personally not a fan of many Chrysler products. All I know who have owned them have either gotten rid of them when something catastrophic happened like an engine or transmission failure OR they got sick of paying more for the monthly repairs than the payment! Several people I know had the 2.7L engine which was notorious. They took fine care of their vehicles and were not too happy when it turned to scrap metal with less than 100k.
They seem to be less reliable and harder to work on than other competing makes. While I haven’t worked on every model out there, it seems crazy to have to take all the engine accessories off to replace a thermostat.
Look up 2012 and 2013 vehicle reliability online. Overall the Chrysler brands tend to be towards the bottom of the list. RAM is actually above average.
While others here might disagree, I would look at ANYTHING else first!
We humans sometimes form strong prejudices about things like cars. I tend to agree with cwatkins on Chrysler all because of my previous car, a 1989 Caravan, before my wonderful 2002 Sienna. I would leave McAllen and drive to Amarillo. When I got to Amarillo, I would call a mechanic for an appointment. When I got to the Quad Cities, I would call a mechanic for an appointment. When I got back to Amarillo, I would call a mechanic for an appointment. When I got back to McAllen, I would call a mechanic for an appointment. And, no one was ever able to stop it from over-heating at 70 mph.
The radiator was half the size it is on my Sienna. The Sienna has never once over-heated. Blasting up a long hill in the Hill Country at 70 mph, in second gear, with temps over 100 degrees, the heat gauge does not move.
I can see where I might end up with a Caravan in Mexico, but I sure hope I am not driven to it.