Couple of stories in the local paper about NUMMI

[IMakeVibes]

Doesn't say a whole lot, but might make for interesting reading:http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/ci_3571823Auto magicNUMMI plant a model for ailing car industryBy TIM SIMMERS, BUSINESS WRITERFREMONT — AS U.S. auto industry giants Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. slash jobs and close plants, the last major auto plant in California keeps rolling out low-cost, fuel-efficient cars.And it has not had a layoff since it opened in 1984.The New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont, a pioneering joint venture between Toyota and General Motors, built 417,505 cars and trucks last year and plans to make 425,000 in 2006 to keep up with demand.Inside the sprawling plant along Interstate 880, welding sparks shoot into the air like fireworks as workers with protective head shields help fasten fenders, doors and other parts to cars. The squealing assembly line and crashing sounds of steel require workers to wear earplugs and hearken back to another day. More than 5,500 workers and 650 robots weld, paint and assemble the cars and trucks on the 1.5-mile line.At a time when the big U.S. carmakers are slamming on the brakes, the only major U.S. auto plant west of the Rocky Mountains appears to have a vision. It builds cars that sell. Those would be the smaller, modest Toyota Corolla, the light Toyota Tacoma truck and the compact Pontiac Vibe.The plant never made those hulking, gas-guzzling SUVs that are partially to blame for Ford's announcement in January of a gut-wrenching overhaul of its business model. Ford will fire about 30,000 workers and close 14 plants in the next six years. In 2005, it lost$1.6 billion In North America and saw its market share shrink. In November, GM said it would fire 30,000workers and close up to 12 facilities by 2008. It lost $5.6 billion last year in North America.The historic NUMMI joint venture - the first of its kind on U.S. soil between a Japanese and an American carmaker - is something of an industry gem. Its secret to success, besides the common sense of building small cars and trucks that are in demand, has been its good labor relations and adoption of Toyota's "lean manufacturing" techniques. Referred to as the "Toyota Production System (TPS)," it is steeped in Japanese business lore and terms that stress and lay out a road map for quality, efficiency and production advances.Of course, the plant is not perfect. Despite its high marks for efficiency and building quality cars, NUMMI officials recently had to rededicate their efforts to teach workers the system that is responsible for its reputation.In 2002, during a new model year for the Toyota Corolla, the plant got a "wake-up call," said Ernesto Gonzalez-Beltran, NUMMI's vice president of manufacturing operations. NUMMI had hired nearly 1,000 new people to help build the new model, but the launch did not go as smoothly as expected.The "tribal knowledge" about lean manufacturing had not been passed down to the new workers, and even some veterans needed a refresher course. They received one in the past two years."We had a difficult time getting vehicles off the line," Gonzalez-Beltran said. "A lot of older guys were gone, and a lot of folks didn't understand the system."So they revved up the system that embraces Japanese terms such as "kanban," which allows for the efficient just-in-time delivery of parts to the assembly line, saving the cost of warehousing parts.Kanban minimizes the number of parts on the line, so there is more room and less clutter for busy assembly line workers."Kaizen," another TPS term, means continuous improvement, and a push to make workers' jobs quicker, easier, safer and less costly.There is also "jishuken," which refers to problem solving. It has spawned worker groups examining the plant's car-building quality, safety and productivity. And these groups have the authority to create change."We've seen significant improvements in safety and production," Gonzalez-Beltran said. "We're running the production line faster and more efficiently." Because of such focus, the NUMMI plant and its workers continue to grow while the U.S. auto industry slows down. In the late 1990s, the plant produced an average of 360,000 cars and trucks per year. Production is up 18 percent since then.The push to reteach lean manufacturing also has been good for some workers."We're making the production line better," said Edwin San Pedro, a former welder who is now a safety representative in NUMMI's body shop. "It's making the workers feel better and safer."One move eliminated five seconds of work time and the hardest weld workers had to make. A robot was brought in to make an overhead chassis weld that required workers to twist their backs.The plant sped up the assembly line by one second recently. That has been done five times in the last three years.The plant makes 960 cars a day and 650 trucks. A finished car comes off the assembly line every 55 seconds, and a truck rolls off every 81 seconds. It takes 61/2 hours to make a car at NUMMI.Toyota just celebrated producing its 15 millionth vehicle in North America. The first one was built at NUMMI, which has made 4.5 million Toyotas in Fremont as well as another 1.7 million GM cars.Toyota now has two other U.S. auto assembly plants - in Georgetown, Ky., and Princeton, Ind. - and will open another one later this year in San Antonio, Texas."The NUMMI plant found a niche, and it works well," said Paul Eisenstein, publisher of TheCar- Connection.com, an online auto industry magazine. "It's a place where the two largest carmakers have a common ground, and communicate and see what each other's doing." It also produces some high-quality cars, he added.The venture is 50-50 owned by Toyota and GM. It is an independent, private company and is profitable, according to company officials. But the joint venture does not release profit information.While California is the biggest car market in the nation, autos from NUMMI are shipped throughout the country and world. Its location near the Port of Oakland is strategic, and so is Toyota and GM's commitment to California, considered a bellwether state for car sales.General Motors is no stranger to the Bay Area. GM previously had a plant on the NUMMI site in Fremont, but GM shut it down in 1982, some 20 years after it opened. About 4,000 local employees lost their jobs in that closure. In 1983, Ford closed its auto plant in Milpitas, which previously had been in Richmond.The NUMMI factory is helping both Toyota and GM, and they do not plan on ending the marriage in California, said GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss."The plant is more than about building great cars," Barthmuss said. "It's set up so we can experiment, study and learn about the manufacturing process from one another."Which raises the question: Why hasn't GM learned enough in more than 20 years at NUMMI to right its own ship?Barthmuss insists that the venture has been a boon to GM. He points out that many of the techniques learned have translated into improvements in productivity and vehicle quality."Our market share is shrinking, but we still are No. 1 in U.S. car sales," he said.But GM has another problem: A generation or two of car buyers does not trust the GM brand. They do not have confidence in the improvements, even if they were documented recently in strong quality ratings against Japanese automakers by respected car industry analyst J.D. Power and Associates."They have their manufacturing act together, but the problem is the reputation," said Dan Gorrell, auto industry analyst with Strategic Vision, a San Diego market research firm. "It's a question of how to unravel the sins of the past."Sins such as cars that did not measure up to Japanese vehicles in quality or customer satisfaction.Tom Libby, director of industry analysis at J.D. Power, said GM has improved substantially in the past few years."Their quality is competitive with (Toyota and Honda)," Libby said.But t
here is a perception that its quality is not as good as those competitors.The company also has emphasized discounts to sell cars. So it has to lower costs to become more profitable, Libby said.That is why, as the U.S. car industry stalls, NUMMI's drive to build cost-effective, high-quality cars remains its key to the future."We build cars that sell," said George Nano, president of Local 2244 of the United Auto Workers union, which represents most NUMMI workers. "The workers are dedicated to building great vehicles."Nano helped negotiate a new four-year contract in August that solidifies jobs for NUMMI workers, gives them raises and clears the road for continued success.That push for fuel-efficient, lowcost cars "makes us less susceptible to the ups and downs of the economy," said NUMMI spokeswoman Rhonda Rigenhagen. "We can't build enough. We have to work overtime and on the weekends to keep up with the demand."One day last month, the NUMMI factory planned to build 160 cars by 10 a.m. But a number in bright lights on a mock scoreboard showing plant efficiency indicated that 154 cars had been produced. That was 97 percent efficiency and is considered good. The plant usually runs 95 percent or higher in efficiency, Rigenhagen said.It costs $12,000 a minute to stop the assembly line, so the plant runs almost continuously for two shifts a day starting at 6 a.m. When the line stopped that Thursday, a blaring horn honked like a London police car, and managers swarmed to the site of the necessary standstill.The workers stopped. So did the robots, which hoist car seats into passing auto bodies, lift hefty chassis onto frames, and drop engines into cars and trucks.In less than a minute, the humming assembly line cranked back up after a welding robot was adjusted. The next critical shift at NUMMI is a new model change, planned for 2008. That is when the Vibe and Corolla will go through either a metamorphosis or some significant modifications.The companies are not talking about details, other than the continued focus on fuel efficiency as well as some design changes.Toyota and General Motors design the cars, which are built at NUMMI. Regardless of the automakers' plans, the usual goal is in place for NUMMI. That is to make production, safety and quality the best, since NUMMI cannot be the best on cost while operating in California."It's very expensive to have a production plant in California," Rigenhagen said. "It costs 30 percent to 40 percent more to make cars here, so we have to be really, really good."Competitors in cheaper states have lower energy costs, lower real estate and labor costs, and less workers' compensation to pay."The aim is to figure out how to close the gap," Rigenhagen said.Daily tours are available at NUMMI. To make reservations, visit http://www.nummi.com or call (510) 498-5765 for more information. http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/ci_3571841NUMMI always a step ahead when it comes to workers' healthBy Tim Simmers, BUSINESS WRITERFREMONT — Edwin San Pedro, a former welder on the NUMMI car plant's assembly line, knows the importance of safety and ergonomics in preventing auto plant injuries.So when a line worker recently told him about an awkward way he had to "lean over and reach out" to make a difficult weld, San Pedro's ears perked up."I've been there," said San Pedro, of Newark, now a safety representative in NUMMI's body shop. "We're trying to make workers feel better and safer."San Pedro helped eliminate that tough weld by bringing in a robot to do the job. His focus on safety is part of the "Toyota Production System" at the Fremont plant. The so-called "lean manufacturing" system uses Japanese terms and culture to emphasize worker protection and efficiency in building cars.San Pedro calls himself a "kaizen" worker, which means he is looking for continuous improvements to make the job of building cars quicker, easier, safer and less costly. Another Japanese term he uses is "jidoka," which refers to building a quality workstation.No doubt, working on an assembly line is not easy. It is fast-paced and can be hard and exhausting. That is one reason NUMMI workers earn between $20 and $32 per hour and have good health benefits. The NUMMI jobs are among the best blue-collar positions in the Bay Area, with some workers earning $75,000 a year, including overtime and bonuses."If a worker is overloaded, we look at that," said Glen Jacobson, who tests new cars after they come off the assembly line.He mentions the term "muda," which refers to wasted steps, energy and motion. At NUMMI, that all is eliminated.A worker who has multiple tasks on the line, such as putting a window and a radio speaker in a car door while the assembly line moves, may be a candidate for an adjustment in duties."We look where we can spread that work out," said Jacobson, who lives in Brentwood.The system that values worker protection also recently rerouted a forklift driver whose truck spewed exhaust fumes at a specific workstation."We want to save worker steps and motions so they can work smarter, not harder," said Ernesto Gonzalez-Beltran, vice president of manufacturing operations at NUMMI. "We also want their ideas and participation in problem solving."Worker "problem-solving circles" are at the heart of safety changes. These groups talk about problem spots that can be improved. And they can make changes."The plant has to be really efficient just to survive in California because it's so expensive here," said Ali Nawabi, a Fremont resident who injured his back on the assembly line and now drives a small parts delivery truck inside NUMMI. "Without these Japanese systems, NUMMI would be shut down and turned into a great mall."The efficiency emphasis aims to fix problems immediately. "If there's something wrong in a dashboard, we don't let it go," Nawabi said. "We tear it apart and fix it now. That's why the quality is so good."Workers also have a new union contract that gives them a good sense of security. Especially compared with some of their Ford and General Motors counterparts across the country, many of them facing the prospect of layoffs in the next couple of years.NUMMI workers have 100 percent of their health care premiums paid for by the company (not including a small rise in doctor-visit copayments). They also receive regular annual wage increases averaging nearly 3 percent during the four-year agreement. And some workers received a $3,000 settlement bonus."There was a lot of uncertainty prior to negotiations," said George Nano, president of Local 2244 of the United Auto Workers union, which represents most NUMMI workers. "There were some hiccups, but we were aggressive and helped save jobs and benefits."Workers were even able to get a boost in their pension payments, which along with health care costs were widely blamed for the Ford and GM job cuts."I'm glad to keep it going and happy to have what we have," said Jacobson, who has a wife and three young children. "We've got a good thing at NUMMI."

[kostby]

Thank you! An interesting read for my 'auto junkie' mind. No ColonelPanic, I didn't say 'junky cars'! I've even never considered that state regulations would have a big effect on the price of producing a car.

[IMakeVibes]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »Thank you! An interesting read for my 'auto junkie' mind. No ColonelPanic, I didn't say 'junky cars'! I've even never considered that state regulations would have a big effect on the price of producing a car.Yep, just about everything costs more in California. Its tough and expensive to do business here, as well as to live. Obviously land, homes, property are very expensive. As well as energy, workers comp, insurance, wages are a bit higher, but nowhere enough to compensate for the higher cost of living. Gas used to be much higher, but it seems like most of the country has cought up to us there. No, I'm not complaining. I was born and raised here. This is home and where I plan to stay. The weathers great, the people are great even though there seem to be mroe people here everyday.

[jimincalif]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »I've even never considered that state regulations would have a big effect on the price of producing a car.Yeah, I own a company in SoCal, 25 employees. Consider an "average" house was $300K 5 years ago and is now $600K. Worker's comp insurance, state taxes, electricity, commercial rent, all higher than elsewhere. Air and other environmental regulations are extreme for manufacturers, probably partly to blame for the Vibe's paint issues.Infrastructure is woefully outdated, the 91 and some other freeways are jammed solid even on weekends. UHaul statistics show more middle class moving out of state than in, based on one-way truck and trailer rentals. We're looking at sending some work offshore just to maintain competitiveness.California is beautiful, the weather is fantastic, but it ain't cheap and isn't getting any better. For an auto manufacturer to be here and be competitive is quite an accomplishment.

[josholiver1]

The Vibe is making money? Toyota and GM..together? Cool

[IMakeVibes]

Quote, originally posted by jimincalif »For an auto manufacturer to be here and be competitive is quite an accomplishment.Thats why we are the only ones around. And atleast part of the reason why some people think NUMMIs years are limited.

[JoeKat]

Thanks for the articles!!! I have a 2003 Vibe GT and my wife has a 2001 Prism LSi. I lived in L.A. 5 years and have in-laws in Fremont so I was happy to support the state and community. Ohh and I got 2 great vehicles. I've also got my GM card charged up for for next vehicle hopefully from NUMMI in a few years. Keep us posted. Thanks.