GM Tops in Three of Four Award Categories in Annual Productivity Study

[doh]

http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/070531/mi_g...awds.html?.v=1

GM Tops in Three of Four Award Categories in Annual Productivity Study -- Most of any Manufacturer Ever
Thursday May 31, 11:28 am ET


<< - Top Assembly, Engine and Transmission Plants in North America

- Since 1998, Closed Productivity Gap with Toyota by Nearly 85 percent

- Improves Overall Manufacturing Productivity by 2.5 Percent >>

DETROIT, May 31 /CNW/ -- General Motors Corp. took three of the top four plant award categories in "The Harbour Report North America 2007." The Harbour Report measures North American automotive manufacturers' assembly, powertrain and stamping plant productivity. This is the first time ever that an automotive manufacturer has placed first in three or more Harbour award categories.

GM's Oshawa No.2 car plant in Ontario, Canada, was the most productive assembly plant in North America at 15.68 hours per vehicle. In the engine category, GM's Spring Hill, Tenn., engine plant led at 2.27 hours per unit. And GM's Toledo, Ohio, transmission plant was the most productive transmission plant in North America at 2.54 hours per unit. GM improved its overall manufacturing productivity by 2.5 percent over last year and closed its productivity gap with Toyota by nearly 85 percent since 1998.

GM also led in 12 of the study's 23 vehicle segments, six of them in cars, one in crossovers, one in vans and four in trucks. Since 1998, GM has closed the vehicle assembly productivity gap with Toyota by approximately 99 percent. Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations, hailed the improvement as an example of the results that can be achieved when unions and management work together.

"GM's leadership in three of the four manufacturing categories demonstrates we are transforming the company for sustainable, long-term success," Cowger said. "This success is a result of our people being involved in the business like never before."

As part of its overall improvement, GM's vehicle assembly plants improved productivity by 1.2 percent. GM's engine plants improved productivity by 4.3 percent and its transmission plants improved productivity by 4.9 percent. GM's metal stamping operations improved labor productivity by 6.6 percent.

"Improving productivity in the face of lower production is a huge accomplishment, but none of the domestic manufacturers can afford to let up," said Ron Harbour, president of Harbour Consulting. "General Motors essentially caught Toyota in vehicle assembly productivity."


Some of GM's productivity highlights in the Harbour study include:
(x) At 32.36 total labor hours per vehicle (including assembly, stamping,
engine and transmission manufacturing), GM improved its overall
manufacturing productivity by 2.5 percent.
(x) GM has four of the top 10 most productive vehicle assembly plants in
North America.
- Oshawa No.2, Ontario, was ranked No.1 at 15.68 hours per vehicle.
- Oshawa No.1, Ontario, was ranked No.2 at 16.34 hours per vehicle.
- Fairfax, Kan., was ranked No.5 at 17.89 hours per vehicle.
- Lordstown, Ohio, was ranked No.9 at 19.17 hours per vehicle.
(x) GM vehicle assembly plants led in 12 of 23 North American assembly
plant segments:
- Spring Hill, Tenn. No.1 (ION) - most productive compact
non-premium
conventional car plant
- Lansing Grand River, Mich. (STS)- most productive midsize premium
conventional car plant
- Oshawa No.1, Ontario (Monte Carlo) - most productive midsize non-
premium sports car plant
- Bowling Green, Ohio (Corvette, XLR) - most productive midsize
premium sports car plant
- Lansing Grand River, Mich. (SRX) - most productive midsize premium
crossover plant
- Moraine, Ohio (Saab 9-7x) - most productive midsize premium
utility plant
- Oshawa No.1, Ontario (Impala) - most productive large non-premium
conventional car plant
- Detroit Hamtramck, Mich. (DTS) - most productive large premium
conventional car plant
- Ft. Wayne, Ind. (Sierra, Silverado) - most productive large non-
premium pickup plant
- Arlington, Texas (Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon, Yukon XL) - most
productive large non-premium utility plant
- Arlington, Texas (Escalade, Escalade ESV) - most productive large
premium utility plant
- Wentzville, Mo. (Express, Savana) - most productive large non-
premium van plant
(x) GM has four of the top 10 engine plants in North America.
- Spring Hill, Tenn., was ranked No.1 at 2.27 hours per unit.
- Flint South, Mich., was ranked No.5 at 3.00 hours per unit.
- Flint North, Mich., was ranked No.7 at 3.16 hours per unit.
- Tonawanda, New York, was ranked No.8 at 3.17 hours per unit.
(x) GM has two of the top five transmission plants in North America.
- Toledo, Ohio, was ranked No.1 at 2.54 hours per unit.
- Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, was ranked No.3 at 3.36 hours per unit.

[neshapop]

Full report here:

http://harbourinc.com/documents/2007PressRelease.pdf

Good news, although another article shows Toyota's supremacy...


Study: Toyota tops for productivity
DETROIT - Toyota Motor Corp. led all North American automakers in manufacturing productivity last year, but Detroit's three automakers continued to close the productivity gap with their Japanese rivals, according to a study watched closely by the industry.
The annual report prepared by Troy-based Harbour Consulting, compares labor productivity at six companies that have North American plants.
It took Toyota 29.93 labor hours to build components and assemble each vehicle.
Nissan Motor Co., 2005's most productive company, finished second at 29.97 hours, but Harbour Consulting had to estimate that figure because Nissan would not provide 2006 data.
Honda Motor Co. finished third at 31.63 hours, followed by General Motors Corp. at 32.36 and DaimlerChrysler AG at 32.9, Harbour reported. Ford Motor Co. finished last at 35.1 hours, but that was nearly a 2 percent improvement over 2005's 35.8 hours.
Harbour Consulting President Ron Harbour said the difference between the most and least productive companies last year was 5.17 hours, more than two hours better than the 7.33-hour gap in 2005. Yet the gap still is equal to about $300 per vehicle in favor of Toyota, the study said.

[doh]

Doomed GM plant is nation's most productive
Rankings show GM plant slated to close takes least time of any in North America to assembly a car.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
May 31 2007: 11:51 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The most productive auto plant in North America is doomed - it's on the list of plants that General Motors is closing as the world's largest automaker slashes capacity in a bid to stem losses.

The annual ranking of auto plant productivity by Harbour Consulting found GM's Oshawa No. 2 plant is the most productive in the North American auto industry.


GM narrowed the productivity gap with its Japanese rivals in 2006, according to a study released Thursday, but its most productivity plant is slated to close next year.
That plant is among the plants that GM (Charts, Fortune 500) plans to close in coming years as it seeks to get capacity closer in line with demand.

The Ontario plant, which makes the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick LaCrosse and Allure, took only 15.68 hours on average to build a vehicle in 2006. That's an improvement from the 16.08 hours it took in 2005, and is better than the 16.34 hours it takes to build a vehicle at the neighboring Oshawa No. 1 GM assembly line.

The No. 2 plant was originally slated to close when it's done making 2008 models about this time next year. But GM now plans to keep some production going there for an undetermined amount of time as it modernizes the Oshawa No. 1 plant to give that facility a more flexible assembly line.

Oshawa No. 2 was the second most productive plant in last year's rankings but the only plant that was more productive, an Atlanta plant that built the Ford Taurus, was closed last year when Ford (Charts, Fortune 500) discontinued production of that model. GM announced in November 2005 that it would close Oshawa 2, as well as a dozen other facilities.


http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/31/news...ce=yahoo_quote

[Slowrider5]

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/31/news...ion=2007053111

Rankings show GM plant slated to close takes least time of any in North America to assembly a car.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
May 31 2007: 11:51 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The most productive auto plant in North America is doomed - it's on the list of plants that General Motors is closing as the world's largest automaker slashes capacity in a bid to stem losses.

The annual ranking of auto plant productivity by Harbour Consulting found GM's Oshawa No. 2 plant is the most productive in the North American auto industry.

[unkillsam]

Everyone seems to have the attitude that Toyota is unbeatable. I posted a similar study about 10 months ago that showed GM trailed Toyota in productivity by less then 2%.

Now GM has caught Toyota in productivity, they are virutally tied.

What is even more significant is that GM is beating Toyota's pants off in North America. GM has 3 of the top 4 spots with Toyota nowhere to be found.

Just goes to show that the anti-American crowd is full of it, America is still a great country, and so are a lot of her industrial companies.

Just keep the wheel to the grindstone GM, maybe next year you can do even better!!!!

[69Firebird400]

Aren't they only closing part of Oshawa at a time, to retool for the RWD Zetas like Camaro and Impala? It's not like they're going to tear it down and not build anything there. The Impala is basically Chevy's car flagship (other than the Corvette, of course!) so I'm glad they will be building it in their best plant, in terms of productivity and quality.

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Yea, my understanding is they are going to re-tool Oshawa No. 2 to support the Zeta's.

[likearock00]

Well, the article does a good job of making GM look like they're downsizing and eliminating this plant. Does anyone here know for certain if this plant is closing?

[ericmvest]

DETROIT, May 31, 2007 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) --
General Motors Corp. took three of the top four plant award categories in "The Harbour Report North America 2007." The Harbour Report measures North American automotive manufacturers' assembly, powertrain and stamping plant productivity. This is the first time ever that an automotive manufacturer has placed first in three or more Harbour award categories.GM's Oshawa No.2 car plant in Ontario, Canada, was the most productive assembly plant in North America at 15.68 hours per vehicle. In the engine category, GM's Spring Hill, Tenn., engine plant led at 2.27 hours per unit. And GM's Toledo, Ohio, transmission plant was the most productive transmission plant in North America at 2.54 hours per unit. GM improved its overall manufacturing productivity by 2.5 percent over last year and closed its productivity gap with Toyota by nearly 85 percent since 1998.GM also led in 12 of the study's 23 vehicle segments, six of them in cars, one in crossovers, one in vans and four in trucks. Since 1998, GM has closed the vehicle assembly productivity gap with Toyota by approximately 99 percent. Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations, hailed the improvement as an example of the results that can be achieved when unions and management work together."GM's leadership in three of the four manufacturing categories demonstrates we are transforming the company for sustainable, long-term success," Cowger said. "This success is a result of our people being involved in the business like never before."As part of its overall improvement, GM's vehicle assembly plants improved productivity by 1.2 percent. GM's engine plants improved productivity by 4.3 percent and its transmission plants improved productivity by 4.9 percent. GM's metal stamping operations improved labor productivity by 6.6 percent."Improving productivity in the face of lower production is a huge accomplishment, but none of the domestic manufacturers can afford to let up," said Ron Harbour, president of Harbour Consulting. "General Motors essentially caught Toyota in vehicle assembly productivity."


"We're pleased that UAW members continue to make such a positive impact on GM's productivity as seen in the awards in this survey," said UAW vice president Cal Rapson. "UAW members and UAW leadership are well aware of the importance of focusing on improving GM's U.S. manufacturing productivity."Buzz Hargrove, president, CAW said today, "The results of the Harbour study just released are a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the men and women of the Canadian Auto Workers Union at GM plants. I congratulate these people for their ongoing commitment to making positive improvements in the workplace that benefit GM customers."GM also continues to improve productivity in other areas of its business. Carlisle & Company, which benchmarks warehousing facilities on a number of metrics, recently recognized five of GM's Service and Parts Operations (SPO) facilities as among the 10 most improved in productivity and quality.General Motors Corp. (GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com .*To listen to a podcast featuring GM manufacturing leadership's and Ron Harbour's commentary on GM's results, go to www.GMmanufacturing.info ./NOTE TO EDITOR: For additional media information visit http://media.gm.com./

[SS4EVER]

Congradulations GM and congrats to Oshawa's Plant #2 and Plant #1. Given the fact there is so much change going on there they can still pull it off.

[steve333]

Productivity, thats great.
Now how about doing the same for build quality....cobalt...ahem......

[SierraGS]

One thing to keep in mind when comparing overall averages is that GM and Ford are both handicapped by Van and Truck plants that build a wide variety of styles (P-Models) that require more hours per vehicle.

GM, Ford and Chrysler should all feel good about their progress in closing the productivity gap, something that many said could never be done.

[asim]

Originally Posted by doh

Ron Harbour, president of Harbour Consulting. "General Motors essentially caught Toyota in vehicle assembly productivity."

I like that right there. That is some good news to GM, and some news to Toyota that they need to hit the accelerator. GM has some good plants now, they just need to get products people want to buy in those plants so GM can become the world's leader again.

[paul3230]

tremendous news GM..way to go!

[redimpss5]

This is VERY good news!