When Victor Gaylor walks into an assembly plant, he is judge and jury. He looks and listens and, if he finds evidence linking a vehicle component to a customer concern, he holds court. “We put it on trial to see if it’s guilty,” says the veteran FCA quality auditor. This no-nonsense, product improvement approach recently
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Last week our Sterling Heights, Michigan, Stamping and Brampton, Ontario, Assembly plants earned Bronze status in FCA’s World Class Manufacturing system, which means that 13 of our 36 manufacturing facilities in North America have earned at least the Bronze WCM distinction. Two of those locations have been awarded the WCM Silver designation. WCM was launched
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Is quality about minimizing what’s wrong? Is it about being “perfect”? Is it a feeling? There are many research firms and industry consultants that release automotive quality reports, surveys and studies. But to judge those results as you would, you have to dig into what they are truly measuring. For San Diego-based Strategic Vision’s Total
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How do we know the all-new Jeep® Renegade lives up to the Jeep brand’s long-standing “Go anywhere, do anything” slogan? Because the Jeep team has been there and done that. While early customers are breaking in their new SUVs, the global Jeep development team already has put millions of miles on test vehicles to make
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Manufacturing plant team leaders work on the assembly line in the World Class Manufacturing Academy to refine tools and procedures. We know from years of experience that when the topic of discussion turns to manufacturing strategies, eyes will glaze over rapidly and in high volume. Which is a shame, really. Because building complex machines such
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Every Jeep® vehicle has a reputation to uphold. It must be capable to go anywhere and do anything. But, first it has to pass the test – well, actually hundreds of tests – before the Jeep team determines it’s ready for showrooms and whatever adventures customers dream up for their new SUVs. The all-new 2014
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