Here We Go Again...
Four more Delphi plants have won Shingo Prizes in 2006. This is on top of two in 2005, eight in 2004, four in 2003, five in 2002, two in 2000, and one in 1999. And Delphi is bankrupt. Yes, the Shingo Prize is at the plant level, but this is nuts. We've blogged on Delphi and the Shingo Prize many times before, so this time I'll just sadly pound my head against the wall and be invigorated by true excellence at Masco, Sherrill Manufacturing, American Coil Springs, DeCardy Diecasting, and Grand Haven Stamped Products.
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Amen, Kevin. At what point does this become personally embarrassing to the Shingo Prize people? Are they that stubborn as to keep giving prizes to Delphi? The criteria HAVE to be changed to include business performance. Toyota doesn't do lean to be lean. They do it to make money. Making profit can't be the ONLY Shingo criteria, but come on, it has to enter into the equation.
Posted by: Mark Graban | 23 February 2006 at 11:47 AM
You and Mark sure sound cranky. Why can't you guys stick to blogging about positive stuff like the old Ford plant and Masco the way I do? You won't catch me criticizing the Shingo Prize or Delphi.
Bill
Posted by: Bill Waddell | 23 February 2006 at 03:58 PM
Touche! You got me!
Posted by: Kevin | 23 February 2006 at 04:03 PM
As long as we're all "evolving".
Posted by: Mark Graban | 23 February 2006 at 04:41 PM
Besides Delphi, check the sad case of Collins & Aikman. In the early 90s, AT&T had a couple of award winning plants that were essentially closed and shipped to China. Having seen a few Delphi plants, it's hard to argue that they are not darn good by contemporary standards, but good manufacturing operations obviously do not guarantee solvency. But by the way, Delphi is global, seems to have plenty of cash, and the UAW membership is a minority of their global workforce, so what is really going on with this bankruptcy?
Until we go beyond this scenario to see what is required for a strategy of mostly making-it-where-you-sell-it (a Toyota ideal when it can be done), we will not get to the heart of problems with manufacturing in high cost areas. Europe and Japan have the same issues, with equally big losses of manufacturing work. Being lean is a prerequisite addressing this probem, but being lean at the plant level is just a start addressing the issues.
Posted by: Doc Hall | 24 February 2006 at 09:59 AM
Attention Superfactory Readers!!!
Read the comment above, then read it again, and again, and again, until you have it down cold. For those who don't know, Doc Hall is the energy and the brains behind the formation of AME (Association For Manufacturing Excellence) and he was clearly defining Toyota for Detroit and the rest of the manufacturing community before Jim Womack invented the term 'lean' and most of the rest of us were in our manufacturing infancy. It's a safe bet that Doc forgot more lean manufacturing this morning before breakfast than the most of us will learn in our lifetimes.
Doc's book, Zero Inventories, is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it 23 years ago.
When Doc speaks, we all need to listen.
Posted by: Bill Waddell | 24 February 2006 at 11:03 AM
I disagree that you need to focus on being positive.
The fact is that lean is only part of the equation. There are enough companies that have leaned themselves to death only because the followed methodologies without thinking about strategy and making profits. People need to understand that making money give the company the opportunity to continue to build. No profit, no lean, no jobs.
Yes the Shingo prize should have some measures on profitability.
Posted by: Philip Neukom | 21 March 2006 at 09:14 AM