<p>Hate to break it to some of you, but the type of work ISEs do is much closer affiliated to the workings of higher level executives and operations managers than the people on the lower levels, working on factory floors and whatnot.</p>
<p>Would you rather talk long-term logistics and force distribution with a general or a sergeant?</p>
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<p>Or for the times that Blah2009 actually writes a useful post. </p>
<p>Oh wait, that never happens.</p>
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<p>Japanese-owned plants in Japan still maintain a significant edge in productivity, on average over US-owned plants in the US. The interesting case is Japanese-owned plants in the US, which are also more productive than US-owned plants in the US. </p>
<p>Now, I agree with you that unionization, or lack thereof, may explain some of it. Nevertheless, a unionized plant such as NUMMI - the joint venture between GM and Toyota - still maintains higher productivity rates than does the average GM plant. Why?</p>
<p>What matters is not so much knowledge diffusion ‘per se’, but rather knowledge usage. Understanding how to do something and then actually doing it are two entirely different things, particularly when we’re talking about large and long-standing organizations with entrenched corporate cultures such as the Big 3. Just like everybody understands, intellectually, that exercise leads to better health, but actually doing it is an entirely different matter. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, the point is, at the end of the day, manufacturing firms from around the world are looking to Toyota to learn better operational techniques. Toyota is viewed as a paragon of manufacturing excellence to be emulated. Nobody is looking to the Big 3. Heck, GM and Chrysler are now seen around the world as embarrassments to be abjured.</p>
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How is a measure like this determined?</p>
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I have a BSME, that’s it.</p>
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<p>Numerous methods: defect rates, plant downtime, cycle time, labor hours per vehicle. Here’s one such report:</p>
<p>[ISA</a> | Plant efficiency leader in North America: Toyota](<a href=“InTech Magazine - ISA”>InTech Magazine - ISA)</p>
<p>The fact is, US auto makers, as well as auto makers around the globe, look to the Japanese as examples via which to improve their manufacturing processes. But Japanese firms aren’t looking to US auto makers. That’s not to say that the Japanese are perfect, for there are indeed some mediocre Japanese manufacturers (i.e. Mitsubishi). I certainly also agree that the Big 3 have greatly improved over the last ten years. However, I think nobody would dispute that the Japanese still have the edge.</p>
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<p>In the real world, I am quite certain that the lieutenant gives orders to the sergeant, not the other way around.</p>
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<p>Just because you’re in the field doesn’t give you the right to make claims that are simply wrong. (Not saying that Payne did). It’s simply a historical fact that the Toyota Production System is a more successful system of manufacturing than the systems the Big 3 used to use, so much so that the Big 3 have now themselves largely converted to the TPS system. It’s also a historical fact that the Big 3 wasted billions on roboticization and high-tech implementations that failed to produce efficiency gains - heck, they’ve freely admitted that those investments were failures, and it is also a historical fact that Toyota’s system is noted for a lower-tech, ‘people-oriented’ approach. These are undeniable facts.</p>
<p>lol i wud like to see payne drill a well. i can guarantee payne didnt learn that from any IE school. and yes IEs can work in upstream, “as PRODUCTION ENGINEERS.” all those guys do is sit in a room and stare at a monitor and jot down info in well logs. if there is a problem a supervisor is called to fix it. lol those guys are nowhere near as well paid and respected as the DEs and REs.</p>
<p>edit: okay so u got a BS in MechE. what connections did u have to go from toyota to big oil? impossible within 2 years. you usually have to be hired directly from ur university or have had prior petrol exp. so who’s ass did you kiss?</p>
<p>sakky’s strategy:</p>
<p>post persistently and very very verbosely. wears down other posters by attrition. i wonder if he has a similar strategy with people in real life. probably not since he’s always posting on here, but who knows.</p>
<p>I don’t even remember what I posted that about. That was three years ago.</p>
<p>Blah2009’s strategy:</p>
<p>Contribute absolutely nothing of relevance or value. Harass others who actually try to do so. Lather, rinse, repeat. I wonder if he has a similar strategy with people in real life.</p>
<p>It works well in politics and gets people elected.</p>
<p>Let’s elect Blah2009 for President of the World!</p>
<p>I have to go with sakky on the whole Japanese auto industry thing. The same quality the japs apply to their car, electronic, motorcycle tech, etc, is the way they approach their oil tech. That is something I know about. After working in a plant that produced and manufactured mitsui oil tech here in the south. I was thoroughly impressed with their connection and design implementations. For various reasons such as tolerance ratios, sand abrasion grade on connections, material specs/qualifications, and overall product development. The tolerances specs on the threads, seals, face, of the connections were ridiculous. Complete overkill. Maybe that is the reason I drive a Japanese vehicle, and the reason that was all my parents ever drove. My father after working in the industry all his life couldn’t get over how over engineered their products were, and still can’t get over it today. Which is why he only bought Japanese vehicles, motorcycles, generators, and electronics. It had never led him astray. Also about the whole disagreement between officers/enlisted and execs/assembly line workers. I don’t know if ya’ll seen the special on saving GM, but they showed two different interviews, where the former CEO of GM was stating that they had improved quality and efficiency, along with all the other nonsense. Then they showed the interview of the assembly line worker who had been with the company for close to 30 years, he said they would ship cars that had missing screws, nuts, bolts, ect all the time. He said it was only recently that they management wouldn’t allow them to do that anymore. He said it wasn’t that the workers wanted to build the car that way, they wanted to build the cars completely and not do a half ass job. The fact of the matter was that management did give a damn. As long as they were selling the pieces of junk, they were going to keep the same values. Also, I have a buddy who bought the redesigned GMC Sierra, after a year, he is already needing to get some parts replaced on air conditioning system. So much for Professional Grade, GMC needs to shove those commercials up their ass. It took 14 years for the air conditioner to go out on a corolla my father had bought back in the day. This is redesigned vs. ancient jap tech. Clearly their current state is only a testament to cutting corners and making money off of big SUV’s. Which is probably why GM got Isuzu to design their Duramax Diesel engine, they actually wanted something that would last, lol. In fact, if I had the cash to blow, I would probably buy a Chevy diesel truck just for the diesel engine and slap it in a Toyota or Honda for just for kicks. It would be absolutely hilarious. I so ****ed I didn’t find this post sooner. It is absolutely lovely, lol.</p>