Gm Powertrain - 1906 Words

Introduction Joe Hinrichs, a recent Harvard Business school graduate, was hired in February 1996 to run the General Motors’s the Fredericksburg Torque Converter Clutch (TCC) manufacturing plant. At 29 years old, Hinrichs was GM’s youngest plant manager. Hinrichs was inheriting a poor performing plant that continually underachieved, losing money year after year. Improvements were desperately needed to increase the efficiency of the manufacturing process and reduce operating costs. GM had considered shutting down the plant; however, when a new bonding process, using carbon fiber, for the TCC was approved in 1995, GM instead invested thirty million dollars into the Fredericksburg plant to incorporate the new process.†¦show more content†¦He knew that if he could reconfigure the plant away from assembly lines and into individual work stations, workers would be able to take more ownership of their work, producing better quality parts and be self-motivated by being able to measure their individual output, increasing job satisfaction. The new cells turned out to be a hit. Workers were excited about having more control over their output and being part of the new process. Hinrichs’s active management of change within the factory and focus on worker satisfaction and buy-in resulted in a lot of small victories that he used to win over the workforce’s trust and respect. In the process, Hinrichs transformed the plant from one that was resistant to change to one that embraced and was excited for change. Process Improvements One of the biggest needs for improvement was the assembly process. Although several changes were made throughout the years, quality and efficiency still fell below expectations. Hinrichs implemented the newly developed assembly which consists of two separate work stations that allowed operators in the adjacent stations to share the expensive balancer machine. These assembly cells were much more efficient as workers were no longer forced to wait for another person or machine in the process. Each cell was built like the other with quick turn set-up which created flexibility in the process while also reducing tooling inventory by almost a half. Now cellsShow MoreRelatedEssay on Gm Powertrain Case Analysis2578 Words   |  11 PagesGM Powertrain: Case Study Shannon Mitchell Regis University October 30, 2011 History The General Motors (GM) manufacturing plant located in Fredericksburg, VA was purchased and renovated by GM in 1978. Although this is a small plant comparatively to many of GM’s other plants it is a staple within the small town of Fredericksburg. As a major producer of the Torque Converter Clutch (TCC) for GM’s automatic transmission worldwide the Fredericksburg plant plays a key role in GM’s manufacturingRead More General Motors Inc. 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