 New Toledo manager works to bring World Class Manufacturing sytsem to Jeep |
Nice article from Automotive News about Muaro Pino, the guy in charge in Chrysler's assembly where the Liberty is assembled and his drive (pun intended) to improve quality.
The World Class Manufacturing system is Fiat's adaptation of the Toyota Production System. WCM, as it's called, is designed to root out waste, cut costs, reduce accidents and increase efficiency. Fiat is putting it in place in all Chrysler plants.
As manager of the two Toledo plants, Pino's mission is to improve the quality of the Dodge Nitro and the Jeep Liberty and Wrangler. In Consumer Reports' 2010 ratings, the Nitro and Liberty siblings finished next to last and last in the small-SUV segment. The Wrangler Unlimited was dead last in the mid-sized, two-row-SUV segment. All three vehicles were marked down for fit and finish and reliability.
Pino has much to do, and he must do it fast. "We are in the middle of a tempest," he says, describing the pace of change.
Built like a tight end, Pino is an imposing 6 feet 4, with broad shoulders, dark eyes and a bald head. His sonorous baritone carries over the din of the busy factory floor. He has the stage presence of an actor and frequently refers to himself in the third person.
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| Josephus | Posted: 2011/1/12 21:45 Updated: 2011/1/12 21:45 |
Home away from home   Joined: 2005/7/18 From: Pennsylvania Posts: 265 |
 Re: New Toledo manager works to bring World Class Manufac...Pino is my new hero! Quality Control and process improvement are a way of life for me. We've adopted Toyota's Kaizen as well and the payoff is substantial especially for the customer.
With that acknowledged, he has an almost unacheivable task in bringing Wrangler out of the quality basement. The fact that Wranglers frequently get dunked, jumped, rolled, winched, tugged, and smashed skid plates - by design - means these vehicles have the harshest life expectancy. Also, many are left top-down for long periods of time. I have my top-down over 100 days/year. There's been more than a few mornings with more than 'dew' in it. Short of offering an "Up-Armored" version of the Wrangler, I can't see how Pino will get it to the level of quality that Toyota and BMW ahve reached. Good luck Pino! I'd be happy with middle of the pack. |
