Category: Automotive

Late last year, I decided to upgrade my vehicle. For seven years I’d driven a Honda Civic. It was nothing special, just a reliable vehicle with good gas mileage – the perfect commuter car. But now I’ve got two kids, own a home and picked up woodworking as a hobby; fitting car seats and dimensional […]

After overtaking General Motors as the world’s largest car maker in early 2009, Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. is now facing withering criticism from its own shareholders and the U.S. Congress as a result of the accelerating and braking systems in its cars, which have led to the recall of about 9 million vehicles worldwide as […]

I first wrote about Paccar and Six Sigma back in 2005, then again in 2006 I wrote a blurb with some noteworthy news. Today Paccar released their Q1 earning report that highlights the most current status of their Six Sigma and Lean deployments. Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing Generate Savings and Improve Efficiency “PACCAR’s application […]

As a division of Brunswick Corporation, Mercury Marine recently completed their 1,000th Lean Six Sigma project. BYM News reported this morning on this significant milestone and shared more insight into Mercury’s deployment: “Since (Patrick C. Mackey) launched the cultural transformation of Mercury three years ago, nearly 700 management and production employees have been formally trained […]

ArvinMeritor is a global supplier of integrated systems, modules and components to the automotive industry. They began their lean journey in 2000 with a pilot initiative at the Asheville, North Carolina (USA) plant. Then only a year later the senior leadership team deployed the “ArvinMeritor Performance System” (AMPS) and “S3” (S-cubed) throughout the company: “AMPS […]

Autoliv makes the world a safer place. Simply put, their products save lives. They are a leading manufacturer of auto safety products, and supply all the leading auto makersthroughout the world. Quality is vital when it comes to life and Autoliv is living up to their name. Modeled after the Toyota Production System (TPS), Autoliv […]

Lean Six Sigma surfaced at Brunswick in 2003. Since then it has not merely been sailing along but is powering throughout the company like a Maxum 2400SR3 cruising atop a pristine body of blue. The boating, billiards and bowlingindustriesare very competitive. With noroom toscratch or throw a gutter ball, Brunswick isusing Lean Six Sigma to […]

Visteon, steeped in Lean Manufacturing since 1996, began integrating Six Sigma with Leanin2000.Today Visteon continues to leverage the combined strength of the two methodologies.Although the 2003 and 2004 annual reports fail to mention Six Sigma or Lean there is ample evidence thatthe two methodologies are part of the way they do business. Lou Whitlock, the […]

PACCAR has been truckin’ down the Six Sigma highway for nearly eight years.The arrival of Helene Mawyer, a Master Black Belt from GE, jump-started the corporate initiative which was naturally modeled after AlliedSignal and GE.Today, Six Sigma at PACCAR continues to accelerate and includes Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), supplier training, and “High Impact Kaizen […]

Ford Motor Company started their Consumer Driven Six Sigma initiative in 2000.Today, Six Sigma permeates all business units and brands: Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Ford Credit and Hertz.It is important to note that Six Sigma is not a stand alone initiative at Ford but is an essential piece of a […]

Below is a list of Fortune 500 Automotive companies that use Six Sigma: ArvinMeritorAutolivBrunswickCooper Tire & RubberDanaDelphiFederal-MogulFord Motor CompanyGeneral MotorsGoodyear Tire & RubberJohnson ControlsLearNavistar InternationalPACCARTenneco AutomotiveTRW Automotive HoldingsVisteon

Johnson Controls began their Six Sigma initiative in October, 1999. Six Sigma is practiced worldwide throughout the organization to improve manufacturing as well as business processes. Over 2,000 employees have been trained to drive projects that “eliminate defects and mistakes, reduce waste, drive out excess cost, enhance work efficiency, and shorten work cycles – helping […]