Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Ford and Toyota executives talk I saw this article in The New York Times. Ford and Toyota have had a long history of working together. I think Ford has two major problems--product and manufacturing. The Taurus was a blockbuster, but they've been unable to hit another. But under Nasser (former CEO) quality dropped, efficiencies dropped and product development dropped. Bill Ford found the challenges daunting and brought in an experienced manager. But auto manufacturing is a little different from airplane. This meeting is at the right level. There are many engineers and managers at Ford who know about the Toyota Production System--Lean Manufacturing. But real change begins with the CEO "getting it." Maybe this meeting will be a first step in Ford "getting it." We can only hope. Meanwhile, all of you at Ford better start reading up on Lean. Ford Chief Seeks Ideas From Toyota. The discussions reportedly appeared to have centered on environmental technology and manufacturing. By MICHELINE MAYNARD. [NYT > Home Page] 7:40:44 AM    comment []