ABSTRACT
Maybe it’s just the way I’m wired, but I simply can’t imagine a plant manager, director, or vice president of manufacturing thinking, “My goal is to run a mediocre factory where the safety record is poor, product quality is suspect, and scrap is too high; where shop floor housekeeping looks like a landfill, equipment is unreliable, profitability is intermittent; inventory is too high, yet customers complain regularly about poor delivery performance and high prices.” That said, lots of plants in this country look and perform like that is their objective. I’d much rather imagine that each manufacturing leader is passionate about giving great service to customers, earning a good return for the shareholders while engaging associates, and providing a good living wage and long-term job security for local workers.
