TMI and other manufacturing-minded peeps piled onto a big blue Michigan bus this morning and drove over to General Motors' Lansing Grand River Assembly plant for a tour. This is my first true production line in the purest manufacturing sense. Process lines I have seen before, production processes I've seen before, but the majestic moving assembly line was a first. GMLGRA builds some of my favorite cars, too (Cadillac CTS, STS, and SRX), so that was an added bonus. My manufacturing knowledge tells me that this factory is a great start for GM's implementation of lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System but being on the floor leaves you with the idea that they have a ways to go. Zero inventory? Not there yet? Zero defects? I counted about 30 'finished' cars in a sick bay with repairs starting at "squeaky deck lid" and ranging up. The andon, kanban, kaizen approaches have been implemented and are in use with the right attitude (a problem is a chance to improve!) but there are still problems related to quality that get passed down the line. The hard pill to swallow is that this is probably GM's best facility, building their top-of-the-line cars. It's hard to guess what the plant that shared the site must have looked like cranking out Malibus, Grand Ams, and Cavaliers until last summer.
Last night was Ross' irreverent sketch show rock 'n roll b-school. It was a pretty funny event. Highlights were "The Enron Song" (a Weezer cover wondering 'do you want to use my shredder?'), "God Bless the BBAs," the sketch "The Interview," and the video "Class Break." A familiar crowd was on hand and everybody seemed to be having a good time.
This afternoon I've been cleaning house a little bit and gearing up for the weekend. I'm so fired up for tomorrow that it seems like a total waste of time even having this evening and a Saturday morning. They are favored and we are hungry, which is the recipe for a great game. GO BLUE.
Friday, November 18, 2005