High-Tech Industry

Location: Detroit, DC

Overview: 

This Big-Three automobile manufacturer believed that reengineering of its Quality programs across the supply chain was required. Significant resources were being applied to the management of Quality across the organization and across the supply-base, yet the company consistently received poor marks for overall product quality. It was clear to senior management that a new vision for Quality and initiatives to turn around the situation were required. The scope of the study included advanced quality planning and current management of Quality related to model-year rollouts and new model launches. It included the entire value-chain including Strategy/Culture, Engineering and Design, Platform Management, Purchasing, the Supplier base, Manufacturing, and Warranty.

Objectives:

The objective of the project was to assess the current state of the Client’s management of Quality functions, and to recommend improvements to Quality processes, organizations, and systems. Primary goals were to drive toward zero defects during product launch, reduce assembly hours per vehicle, and to significantly improve the Company’s Quality standing in industry measures such as the National Quality Research Center, Ward’s Auto World Survey, and the Harbour Report.

Results:

An external team of SQA consultants was assembled including supply chain process, lean manufacturing, and automotive industry quality engineers. An internal team was formed with representatives from across the organization. Two senior management executives championed the project, from the Quality and Purchasing organizations. The result was dramatically improved Supplier Quality, requiring fewer FTE Quality resources.