http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189

Pay attention to the last sentence

If only...

"if only the UAW ... historically averse to this sort of supplier integration would allow it."

Define supplier intergration please...

Supplier of labor? Materials?

You export your production to overseas labor markets, and whose going to have cash to buy your [produce]? Your own laid off employees? hahahahaha. The foreign labor locals? hahahahaha.

Looks like the suppliers had their people installing their products.

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http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... theme=AUTOS-SOUTH-AMERICA

Thats a good video. I am heavily involved with the automation and robotics in a plant like that. I was just happy to see those robots were not Fanuc.....

Huge advantage to have tier 1 suppliers manufacturing on the auto plant floor as well.... would solve multiple problems..... should be a given that that is allowed.

Why wouldn't the UAW allow it ? And the better question is, how do they have control over something like that ? Who owns the plant ? The UAW or one of the Big 3 ?

Until the UAW & Carmakers negotiate properly, each understanding what's to lose.....

Robots don't call in sick, take vacation or need overtime pay. Robots do whatever they're programmed to do. Soon this doll will be robotized and then I can get rid of the ol' lady.

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Translation, the UAW doesn't want competitive, efficient manufacturing. They want workers doing repetetive and redundant tasks for $50K plus full benefits.

I worked in a mail processing plant. They had about a dozen letter sorting machines that engaged 15 people per machine per shift. Those machines were replaced over the years by equipment that requires 3 people per shift and belts out more volume. The most needed staffers are the equipment maintenance people. Thousands have been displaced and thousands more are on the chopping block with mail volume dwindling as more and more pay bills online. There was Pony Express, replaced by the mail train, replaced by airmail, replaced by email and electronic transfer. Change is inevitable. So today you have to have skills that engage and promote modern technology if you want to be employable. How many service jobs can our economy accomodate? Retail, commercial real estate, the food service sector and countless others are about to feel a shockwave that's going to rattle our economy to it's core. Remember what happened to the family farm when commercial interests dominated production at lower cost with less manpower. Good paying skilled jobs will get harder and harder to find unless you tap into what's needed today.......... Like nursing ....... or National Crisis Management.

Technological change is inevitable yes, but these labor unions are prematurely pricing themselves out of the picture.

Luckily the post office will always be employed by the junk mail industry.

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Advertising budgets have been slashed. Less stuff in the mailbox to line the birdcage.


Sorry about that........ Somehow I always drift off topic.

I cancelled all my junk mailers. Now I get all my neighbor's ones instead.

I guess the mail man just assumes everyone gets one. You'd think he'd wonder why he's always runs out before he gets to the last house. I need to stay home on a Saturday so I can have a little chat with him.

Or simply move to the end of his route.

Perhaps we should outsource our public schooling system to Brazillian robots too!

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I would think being ranked #1 in most segments makes them pretty competitive and efficent....

From the 2008 Harbor report...

Some of GM's productivity highlights in the Harbour Report include:

At 32.29 total labor hours per vehicle (including assembly, stamping, engine and transmission manufacturing), GM improved its overall manufacturing productivity slightly by 0.2 percent.

GM has the top transmission plant in North America.

Toledo, Ohio, ranked #1 at 2.37 hours per transmission.

GM has three of the top 10 assembly plants in North America.

Oshawa #1, Ontario, ranked #2 at 15.18 hours per vehicle.

Oshawa #2, Ontario, ranked #3 at 16.17 hours per vehicle.

Lordstown, Ohio, ranked #7 at 18.12 hours per vehicle.

GM vehicle assembly plants led in 11 of 20 North American assembly plant segments in which it competes--the most of any manufacturer:

Oshawa #2, Ontario (Grand Prix, Lacrosse) ranked first in the Midsize-Non-Premium Conventional Segment

Lansing Grand River, Mich. (STS) ranked first in the Midsize-Premium Conventional Segment

Oshawa #1, Ontario (Monte Carlo) ranked first in the Midsize-Non-Premium Sports Car Segment

Bowling Green, Ken. (Corvette, XLR) ranked first in the Midsize-Premium Sports Car Segment

Doraville, Ga. (Montana SV6, Relay, Terraza, Uplander) ranked first in the Midsize-Non-Premium Van Segment
Moraine, Ohio (9-7X) ranked first in the Midsize-Premium Utility Segment

Oshawa #1, Ontario (Impala) ranked first in the Large-Non-Premium Conventional Segment

Detroit-Hamtramck, Mich. (DTS) ranked first in the Large-Premium Conventional Segment

Arlington, Texas (Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon) ranked first in the Large-Non-Premium Utility Segment

Arlington, Texas (Escalade, Escalade ESV) ranked first in the Large-Premium Utility Segment

Wentzville, Mo. (Express, Savana) ranked first in the Large-Non-Premium Van Segment

GM has five of the top 10 engine plants in North America.

Spring Hill, Tenn., ranked #2 at 2.53 hours per engine.

Flint South, Mich., ranked #5 at 3.07 hours per engine.

Flint North, Mich., ranked #6 at 3.09 hours per engine.

Tonawanda, New York, ranked #7 at 3.19 hours per engine.

Romulus, Mich., ranked #10 at 3.46 hours per engine.

GM led in three engine segments--up one from last year.
St. Catharines, Ontario, ranked #1 in 8 cylinder overhead valve.

Flint North, Mich., ranked #1 in 6 cylinder overhead valve.

Flint South, Mich., ranked #1 in 6 cylinder overhead cam.

Sorry but the glass isn't half full.

They were ranked 4th out of the 6 largest automakers in productivity, and...

"Honda and Nissan didn't participate in this year's study, so estimates were based on publicly available data, Harbour said. Honda spokesman Ed Miller said Honda has participated in the past but decided the report didn't give it enough information to justify the fees and staff time spent on it. 'We do our own in-house efficiency studies, and that's our primary way of judging efficiencies,' he said"

"Honda and Nissan make $1641 in pre-tax profit on every vehicle assembled, while the average profit on a Toyota is $922. Contrast that with $1467 lost by Ford per vehicle, a loss of $729 on average for GM, and $412 in the red on a Chrysler product."

Only 8 of those 20 plant segments have non-union (foreign) makes competing in them.

The Oshawa plant isn't employing U.S. workers.

"Interestingly, all of the plants that GM announced it would be closing (including those slated for shutdown prior) were ranked on Harbour's list, leading 11 of the 20 segments it competes in for efficiency."

"Toyota's inefficiencies were largely due to the rapid shift away from trucks and sport utilities as gas prices rose, according to Ron Harbour."

im confused the big want to borrow 25 billion to keep their plants running why should my tax dollors go to them is it so they can keep their plants that are off shore running and put our people out of work i agree the uaw should work things out with the big 3
but if the big 3 build more off shore and keep shutting plants down in the us then we will be supporting the unemployed auto worker wont we
i was teamster for 30 years and sat in on some contract committes i saw both sides of the story the co wants more profit and the employee wants some of that pie also
but over the years things got out of hand everything went into the toilet people and companies just wanted more and more well i guess the whole system is fubared now
some input gang thats my feeble mind expressing it self ok ill put my soap box away

I could be wrong, but I believe those particular cars are sold down there for that market.

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The handout cash is stayin' in the pockets of the recipients.

It is NOT bein' loaned, and it is NOT bein' used to pay current bills, which are already re-negotiated with creditors and mostly written off as loss.

We did case study in organizational behavior in college.

When production demands are beyond realistic, labor sets their own procuction level, which is below realistic, by FAR, and of course, with each individual, there is 'variance', which does NOT exist when all are in unison.

The case study was line assembly in Detroit in the mid 60's. I don't remember the specifics, but it was something like this: A team of 4 had one job at their station - bolting in the rear bench seat and the seat belts. Took maybe 14 bolts, and x amount of time. They did it for 8 hours.

After the learning curve tapered off, they realized not all 4 people were necessary. One would spend 2 1/2 hours in the break room, then another would take his 2 1/2 break later during the second half of the shift.

Then they figured out they could get away with putting in only 11 of the 14 bolts, and save enough time to make 3 hour breaks.

And it worked. Only reason there were ever recalls, was because no one on the team knew the shortcuts that another team took, which occasionally affected each other's work.

They had their own mini-unions. And they worked, but only in autonomy.

All because of unrealistic demands passed down to management, from the top.

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How is it an unrealistic demand for 4 people to put 14 bolts in, if it only actually took 3?

4. It didn't take 3, it took 4.

One 'instance' of the task could be done with 3 - maybe even 2, but not x amount of times/allotted time period, when ALL other factors were added in.

If you're really interested, check out some organizational behavior case studies. I'm sure they're readliy available at the click of a mouse yup...

Lycoming has the UAW union.

It was ridiculous trying to get anything done.
If I went down to the dyno, basically I had to keep my hands in my pocket.
I wasn't allowed to pick up a tool.

If you spilt your coffee, you weren't allowed to pick it up.
You needed to get a union janitor to come and get it.

A grievance was filed when an office worker moved his desk accross the office by himself!

Any drawing of part I made, had to be call the "sketch"

The "sketch" was then taken by a union drafter, to be drawn over line by line.

DO YOU THINK THATS GOING TO WORK IN THIS CASE BLADE
GOOD LUCK WITH THE LAWYERS ALSO