This week’s This American Life is devoted to the closing of NUMMI, an auto plant that was a joint venture between Toyota and GM. It’s both touching and infuriating.
The story of how the worst plant in GM was transformed by Toyota’s methods is an affecting tale of human redemption. “Old, fat” UAW members, accustomed to drug abuse and filing grievances, became some of the most efficient workers in the world. They also underwent personal transformations. One guy who had been ashamed of the cars he built put postcards under the windshields of NUMMI-built vehicles he saw around town, asking the owners what they thought of them.
The infuriating part of the program is how it took GM 15 years to learn the NUMMI lessons, mostly due to management, but the UAW played its part. The title of this post comes from one NUMMI manager’s attempt to explain why GM changes do slowly.
The podcast is free through the weekend, and available here [mp3] or through iTunes.
Steering the Titanic With a Canoe PaddlePost + Comments (35)