GM To Run a Plant 24/7

[BigAls87Z28]

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f...5/#post1928603

KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Starting Jan. 4, General Motors Co. plans to do something unprecedented in the U.S. car industry: It will run its assembly line here around the clock on a permanent basis.

While common in other industries, not even car-efficiency benchmark Toyota Motor Corp. operates its plants routinely with more than two shifts. Car-assembly lines need too much scheduled maintenance and restocking for such intensive production to make sense, many industry experts say.

For a company long bloated with unused capacity, GM's third-shift strategy is a radical—and risky—departure. Unlike other cost-cutting moves made during its trip through bankruptcy court last summer, such as halving its brands to four, the third-shift plan could make GM a model of car-industry efficiency—or end up a failure like its 1980s drive to let robots run its factories.

The move comes as GM is closing other plants around the country. That means the 23-year-old Kansas City factory, which will add more than 900 jobs, as well as two other GM plants scheduled later for a third shift will become boom towns of sorts as other plants go dark.

That's no accident. The Obama administration auto task force that oversaw GM's reorganization last spring was startled to learn that the industry standard for plants to be considered at 100% capacity was two shifts working about 250 days a year. In recommending that the government invest about $50 billion in GM, the task force urged the company to strive toward operating at 120% capacity by traditional standards.

Typically, car makers have added third shifts only as a temporary reaction to market surges. Even then, a more-common tactic is to place two shifts on overtime. "Two shifts gives us the flexibility to perform any necessary maintenance on equipment between shifts," said Mike Goss, a spokesman for Toyota's U.S. manufacturing operations.

A few idle hours between shifts also enables a plant to perform cleaning and restocking. A plant's paint shop alone generally requires about four hours of cleaning a day, said Mr. Harbour, adding that the efficiencies of a third shift can disappear quickly amid slowdowns for such maintenance.

Many auto-parts makers have long operated three shifts, and GM is convinced it can do likewise. Still, it is moving cautiously, starting with what is arguably its top-performing plant.

[BonzoHansen]

Malibu & Lacrosse? They need to make camaros & equinoxes. local dealer said he could sell 100 equinoxes if he could get them.

[LTb1ow]

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1785...nies-j-d-power

Eh?

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by LTs1ow

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1785...nies-j-d-power

Eh?

As part of its seventh annual Avoider Study released Tuesday, the company for the first time looked at future brand viability as a reason for avoidance and found that Chrysler, Dodge, Hummer, Pontiac, and Saturn were most avoided earlier this year because of an uncertain future.

Uncertian future? Hummer, Pontiac, and Saturn's future is pretty damn clear. Even hardcore GM fanboys probably would avoid buying one now. The brands are circling the drain.

[BigAls87Z28]

Originally Posted by BonzoHansen

Malibu & Lacrosse? They need to make camaros & equinoxes. local dealer said he could sell 100 equinoxes if he could get them.

No doubt about it, there are Camaros on every lot, but good luck finding a Nox now with winter here.
Its a great SUV, best in class. Now, they just have to offer the 3.6 SIDI engine with a the SRX's adaptive AWD with rear eLSD! Nox SS!!! Few trips around the 'Ring, and you have yourself a sports SUV for half the cost of the others.

[SteveR]

This should be interesting. If GM hires the same wackos that Ford hired at its Kansas City plant, expect a lot of messed up cars from the factory Everybody at the KC Ford plant is drunk half the time, and when I was at Ford, every damn truck we got in that came from the Kansas City plant had major problems and broken crap right off the truck, ranging from incorrectly installed transmissions that self destructed when you went to drive them off the truck to the lot, torn interiors, faulty wiring, and rear ends that were put together wrong and had to be completely replaced with 0 miles on them.

[BigAls87Z28]

Something tells me GM is going to look at these new employees with a watchful eye.

[LTb1ow]

So why the need for more shifts?

People buy GM cars?

[NastyEllEssWon]

this is really good for the environment....a fully operational factory running full time 24/7

[LTb1ow]

Originally Posted by NastyEllEssWon

this is really good for the environment....a fully operational factory running full time 24/7

Making GREEN cars!

[BigAls87Z28]

Plants are pretty green now, lots of recylced energy, paint systems.
Well...as green as a factory can be. Not liek there are giant smoke stacks...its not coal power plant, shesh.

[SteveR]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

Plants are pretty green now, lots of recylced energy, paint systems.
Well...as green as a factory can be. Not liek there are giant smoke stacks...its not coal power plant, shesh.

Plus the employees run on ethanol

[BigAls87Z28]

Ahahahaha...yeah, that too.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by SteveR

Plus the employees run on ethanol

I hope it's not corn based...lol