NASCAR: Every Second Counts Helping Win From The Pits.
By: Mark Appolloni:
Introduction to the case:
NASCAR, The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is the largest approved body of motorsports in the United States. In 2006, after 15 years of working in NASCAR racing as an athletic director for HMS, Andy Papathanassiou (known as Papa) began searching for the next breakthrough to improve pit crew performances and times. His innovative techniques and determination had successfully cut pit crews performance times in half because he introduced athletic training and much like chapter 3 in our book standardized (organized) practices to the process thus turning crew members into athletes. The introduction of pit
…show more content…
At most tire shops it may take 30 minutes to change the tires on your car. Today, most pit stops in a car race take 1% of that time and this is one example of how the race is won or lost. A few years ago 18 seconds used to be the standard time to change all four tires on a racecar’s pit stop and nowadays in 15 seconds some crews can not only change the tires but fuel the car up as well. Crews are more specialized these days as they have found more ways to lean out their process. So don’t be surprised if pit times drop even further in the future as more ways are being found to lean out the process even more. It is all part of an equation when the driver first hits the pit for his stop. His tires have to be at a certain mark in a box and if he misses the mark he needs to get pushed back before the service can even start and he loses time for every part of this lean process or equation that he is off. The jackman and the tire changes can be over the wall separating the pit from the crew just before the driver and the car even stops. This is another part of the process that needs to be exact. The jackman gets to the right side of the car and raises the car while the tire changers loosen the lug nuts on each wheel and pull it off and put the new tire on the car (Royce, 2002). This, is all part of a leaned out process used to gain an edge to win the
The human race has made leaps and bounds in manufacturing of goods needed not only to survive, but to make our lives easier and more efficient. From the earliest recorded history, man has made the tools he needed to survive or gain a completive advantage. In the not too distant past, 100 years or so, we had skilled craftsman who had specific skills and talents. In a small town you would have a blacksmith, a tailor, a farmer, etc. Each of these people learned their skills through years of apprenticeships, and the items they made were unique. Their processes often took months or even years to complete. Since these times we as a society have progressed from craftsmanship to assembly lines. Even now we have robotic manufacturing,
Jackson Automotive Systems is an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that supplies parts for the automobile industry. Jackson Automotive Systems is currently operated by the president, Larry Edwards, and was founded in 1961 by Larry Edward’s father. Jackson Automotive Systems has been operated largely as a cash only business with very little if any debt outstanding typically.
The United States-based auto manufacturer Ford Motor Company was in dire straits just a few short years ago, nearing the edge of bankruptcy along with the other major American auto manufacturers General Motors and Chrysler. Ford was the only one of these companies to avoid actually going into bankruptcy, and many credit this achievement in very large part to Alan Mulally, the company's new CEO since 2006. Having just been handed the reins of the already-struggling company right before the collapse of the financial sector and the global recession that followed, one might expect Mulally and Ford to have gone down in flames as the new leader crumbled under the weight of ever-mounting pressures and problems at Ford. Instead, the company returned to profitability and avoided bankruptcy because the policies of lean manufacturing and strategic management of global resources that had already been undertaken by Mulally continued to support the company's efforts and operations even at the height of the recession.
One may ask how NASCAR pit team are able to change all four tires during a race and it takes them 15 seconds to do it compare to the usual 15 minutes of changing tire. NASCAR pit team uses a methodology that was implemented in 1967 by a Japanese industrial engineer Shigeo Shingo. Shingo was able to cut more of the time wasted during change over time by introducing a methodology technique for examine all setup operations and modifying the setup process to reduce the overall time spent before processing the next step. Shingo’s methodology he introduced was Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), he uses SMED to cut Toyota’s
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A. (TMM) is deviating from the standard assembly line principle of jidoka in an attempt to avoid expenses incurred from stopping the production line for seat quality defects. This deviation has contributed to the inability to identify the root cause of the problem, which has led to decreased run ratios on the line and an excess of defective automobiles in the overflow lot for multiple days. If this problem isn’t fixed quickly, an increased amount of waste will continue to be incurred and customer value will be threatened.
The US automobile manufacturing industry includes about 200 companies with combined annual revenue of about $250 billion. Major companies are GM, Ford, and Chrysler (which is controlled by Italy 's Fiat). The industry is highly concentrated: the top three companies account for more than 90 percent of revenue.
2) What advantages does Dell derive from virtual integration? How important are these advantages in the auto business?
In order to meet the future consumers’ trend forecasted by the automotive industry, Ford wants to reposition itself and its business model regarding as how to better satisfy consumer needs, which is to produce smaller economic cars that the US middle-class customers value. Therefore, it seeks to take a new direction and to bring a revolution to the automobile industry, and to revive its glory years. A number of vehicle programs have been changed, delayed or even dropped throughout 2007. Ford officials believe that the shifts are aimed to get the right products to the market faster, with the emphasis on reducing costs and accelerating product development.
Q: 2. Discuss Jeff Gordon's race team on dimension discussed under methods to increase group cohesiveness.
Topic: The percent of obesity among Americans has been increased due to inactive way of life.
Since the 1970’s just about every vehicle manufacturer across the world has suffered some type of crisis as a result of unintended quality problems with the cars they manufacture. These types of crises threaten a company’s reputation for producing quality cars including their brand image. This paper aims to elaborate on two very well publicized auto makers and their respective crises and the critical management decisions that were made and their impact. Toyota and Ford as we all know have a very strong industry reputation as well as millions of loyal and faithful followers and owners of their vehicles; however, these two giants of the automobile industry had two of the most publicized cases in modern day history.
Lean manufacturing plays a major role in our economy and yet it is almost unheard of outside manufacturing. It is important to know lean manufacturing relates to our individual lives and how we can all benefit from this concept. With current slow economic recovery, it is imperative that we find avenues that consumers can get through these difficult times, but also to implement the lessons-learned values into future thinking. The rising cost of goods and the unemployment rate high, lean manufacturing is helping to keep cost low and jobs in America where they belong.
Lean production is widely understood to be production based upon a range of waste saving measures inspired by Japanese manufacturing companies, particularly the Kaizen and Just in time techniques. Metov’s plastics have taken the decision upon themselves to incorporate some of the characteristics of lean production namely time management and critical path analysis into their manufacturing process and I will examine these.
Automobile industry of japan witnessed an awesome accomplishment with the growth of Toyota. It became the biggest maker in the worldwide business. Toyoda kiichiro was hesitant to invest in automobile sector. In the year 1933 the company started its production. In order to have cost efficiency they adopted the mass production technology.
Manufacturing has been perceived as the fundamental means for the development of the economy. Always showing signs of changing global environment, which has been posturing difficulties of intensity and survival to every one of the constituents of the economy. Manufacturers everywhere throughout the world have constantly confronted uplifted difficulties, for example, rising client 's interest for better and enhanced items, fanciful interest, and rivalry in business sectors. There is no mistrust that the manufacturers are continually grasping changes and enhancements in their key exercises or procedures to adapt to the steadily developing difficulties.