2006 Fall Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com
2006 Fall Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com 2006 Fall Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 > Mistake-Proof Power But light as the fixture is, Moore suggested that one of the handles be moved to make the job easier on workers with a shorter reach. Working with an engineer, he got the job done. And Moore couldn’t be happier. ALL-AROUND WIN-WIN Reactions like Moore’s make a lot of sense to Dan Lewandowski, UAW JAOP and Smart facilitator at Toledo North. Lewandowski will be helping to migrate Smart Manufacturing techniques throughout the plant as Nitro production hits high gear. “Mistake-proofing is a winwin for the company and the union,” he says. “It makes things easier for the workers and they won’t get in trouble for making mistakes. It also gets costs down for the company.” Among the significant innovations that will be coming to workstations throughout the plant are Smart tools like Pick Lights. In workstations with parts that have a similar appearance, a green light will appear near the correct part for the next vehicle. John Moore hard at work building a Jeep Liberty. “ Mistake-proofing is a win-win for the company and the union.” — DAN LEWANDOWSKI Reaching into the bin breaks a light screen and tells the computer the right part is being installed. But if an operator forgets to pick that part or picks a part out of another bin, the bin shows a red light and the vehicle will not move on until that part is returned to its bin. Hundreds of errors that can be prevented by Pick Lights have been identified, says Lewandowski. And that’s just one of the places where errors are being hunted down and eliminated. In underbody welding, Mickey Viertlbeck is enthusiastic about a new system of error-proofing. The newly retired UAW Local 12 member explains that the hot-stamp steel being used in the Nitros is significantly softer than the steel used to make the Liberty, requiring even more precision in welding. Viertlbeck says that an innovative system of lights, barcodes and LED displays now helps his former team position ladders (underbodies) correctly for robotic welding. Bad welds, he says, are now very rare. SMART LAUNCH — SMOOTH LAUNCH Viertlbeck was part of the launch team for the Nitro, spending every weekend leading up to the launch in the plant, cleaning out the front structure GEO underbodies each Friday and then running test Nitro bodies through them. Orion Gregory, known as “O.G.” in the plant, got involved in the Nitro launch even earlier; he built Nitros from scratch at Jeep and Truck Engineering in Detroit after going through pilot training. “I was probably the first person in the world to drive a Nitro,” says O.G., a Local 12 member. That’s not bragging, he says, just the truth. He was also one of the first to pass along suggestions about how to improve the Nitro, based on what he learned in pilot training. “We came back to Toledo and created our own pilot room here to refine the car — and we brought the engineers with us.” O.G. used his skills as a 14 TOMORROW FALL 2006 www.uawdcx.com
final inspector to find as many problems as possible and get them fixed before the launch. “I was trained for this moment,” he says of the launch, adding that he would participate in another one in a heartbeat because it was so interesting. “People worked hard to make this work,” says launch team member Cindy Nudi, a team leader from Local 12. “I made the extra effort because I built it as if my mother or child might buy it.” In fact, the people at TNAP hope their hard work makes Nitros so perfect that they blast off car lots all over the country. ■ Top: Dan Lewandowski (right) and Brett Chany admire a shiny new Nitro. Right: Workers’ input keeps the line running in high gear at Toledo. TOLEDO ROLLS OUT THE LATEST WRANGLER The 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has opened its doors — all four of them — making it the only four-door convertible on the market. Adding space for those long-desired two additional doors on the Jeep classic was all about pride and productivity. In 2003, Toledo Parkway assembly workers showed their adaptability when the century-old manufacturing site switched to newer, smarter manufacturing methods. The transition was so successful that it paved the way for Jeep to build the all-new Unlimited at the new Toledo Supplier Park. Upholding the Wrangler experience of open-air, off-roading excellence, the Unlimited delivers space and versatility to people who love the original Wrangler but want even more. FEATURES: • One-of-a-kind, four-door, open-air experience, with room for five passengers • Offered in three models: Unlimited X, Sahara and Rubicon • Comes in either two-wheel or four-wheel drive • 3.8-liter V-6 engine features 205 horsepower and 240 lb.-ft. of torque with improved fuel economy • Offers nearly triple the rear cargo space • Variety of open-air driving options with Jeep’s Freedom Top and a standard Sunrider soft top, which includes a “sunroof” feature • Available in markets outside North America • The first Jeep Wrangler with an available diesel option ROY RITCHIE — Jaclyn Greenberg www.uawdcx.com TOMORROW FALL 2006 15
- Page 1 and 2: LOOKING AHEAD AT THE UAW-DAIMLERCHR
- Page 3 and 4: General Holiefi eld comes to his ne
- Page 5 and 6: Cruise Control Call the Homework Ho
- Page 7 and 8: Real People Making Conquests Everyb
- Page 9 and 10: BY RON RUSSELL Real People Mack Ave
- Page 11 and 12: SOLUTION PDCs pack more productivit
- Page 13: Training UP WOM PHASE 1 HELPS TEAMS
final inspector to find as many problems<br />
as possible and get them fixed before the<br />
launch. “I was trained for this moment,”<br />
he says of the launch, adding that he would<br />
participate in another one in a heartbeat<br />
because it was so interesting.<br />
“People worked hard to make this<br />
work,” says launch team member Cindy<br />
Nudi, a team leader from Local 12. “I made<br />
the extra effort because I built it as if my<br />
mother or child might buy it.” In fact, the<br />
people at TNAP hope their hard work<br />
makes Nitros so perfect that they blast off<br />
car lots all over the country. ■<br />
Top: Dan Lewandowski (right)<br />
and Brett Chany admire a shiny<br />
new Nitro. Right: Workers’ input<br />
keeps the line running<br />
in high gear at Toledo.<br />
TOLEDO ROLLS OUT THE LATEST WRANGLER<br />
The 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has opened its doors — all four of them — making it the only four-door<br />
convertible on the market. Adding space for those long-desired two additional doors on the Jeep classic was all about pride<br />
and productivity. In 2003, Toledo Parkway assembly workers showed their adaptability when the century-old manufacturing site<br />
switched to newer, smarter manufacturing methods. The transition was so successful that it paved the way for Jeep to build the<br />
all-new Unlimited at the new Toledo Supplier Park. Upholding the Wrangler experience of open-air, off-roading excellence, the<br />
Unlimited delivers space and versatility to people who love the original Wrangler but want even more.<br />
FEATURES:<br />
• One-of-a-kind, four-door, open-air experience, with room for five passengers<br />
• Offered in three models: Unlimited X, Sahara and Rubicon<br />
• Comes in either two-wheel or four-wheel drive<br />
• 3.8-liter V-6 engine features 205 horsepower and 240 lb.-ft.<br />
of torque with improved fuel economy<br />
• Offers nearly triple the rear cargo space<br />
• Variety of open-air driving options with Jeep’s Freedom<br />
Top and a standard Sunrider soft top, which<br />
includes a “sunroof” feature<br />
• Available in markets outside<br />
North America<br />
• The first Jeep Wrangler with<br />
an available diesel option<br />
ROY RITCHIE<br />
— Jaclyn Greenberg<br />
www.uawdcx.<strong>com</strong> TOMORROW FALL <strong>2006</strong> 15
Change language