This Week In
Black History
-7
Ab ut how many [ric
re tually kidnapped and
forced into lavery ?
, m r etin ex-
Who are the three Blacks
who integrated Benny
Goodman ' s band in the
1930 ?
DECEMBER 3, 1847 - .
r derlck Dou I publish-
ed the first i ue of orth
Star. 1944 - Roderick L.
Irl nd, judge, was born.
Which famous Lightweight
bo er retired to become a
Baptist mini ter?
DECEMBER 4, 1928 -
Jo eph R. Ne von, cler
gyman, wa born. 1 9-
The New York Amsterdam
. New wa founded by J me
. nderson.
How Many bu ine es
were owned by Blacks in
197 ?
DECEMBER 5 1929-
Felix Ramon-Ne I , attor
ney, wa horn. 1955 - Mar
tin Lutbher King, Jr.
organized Birmingham bus
boycott, marking the begin
ning of the' Civil Rights /
movement. 1784 - Philli
Wheatley, poet, died.
. Who is believed to be the
first Black American to hold
a eat on the New York Stock
Exchange?
DECEMBER 6, 1870 -
olored National Labor
Convention met in
Wa hington, D.C. 1892 -
Theodore K. Lawle ,der
matologist, was hom. '
in what year did Motown
lndu tries begin? What city?
DECEMBER 7, 1942 -
Alex John on, baseball
player, was born. 1985 -
Auburn Univer ity running
back .Bo Jackson won ·the
Hei man Trophy. 1941 -
Ricbard Wright, novelist,
awarded Springarn Medal,
W?S bO�.
How many Blacks won the
'Heisman Trophy between
1961 and 1982?
ANSWERS TO
SLACK HISTORY
QUESTIONS
1 t - According to Man
nix, in Black Cargoe , only
one or two slaves out of a
hundred were actually kid
napped.
..
Znd - Teddy' Wil on,
Charlie Chri tian annd Lion I
Hampton.
3rd - Henry "Hammer
ing Hank" Armstrong.
4tb - 187,500.
5th - Clarence B. Jones,
native of Philadelphia.
6th -1959 at Detroit, MI.
7tb - Thirteen (13).
r
p
DETROIT
rrangement. Th cou es, identi I
to th e h Id on the M donn c m
pus but more concentrated, nd re
op n to 11 Bell employee nd held
entirely in-hou e at Michig n
Bell' Northwe t Center in South
field.
ADVERTISE HERE
Hermosillo is a process called Ouality
Deployment System (ODS), designed to
improve quality through extensive employee
involvement.
Ina recently published book called, The
Machine That Changed The World, M.I.T.,
one of the foremost engineering schools in
the U.S., reported that in a world-wide survey
conducted between 1984 and 1989, it found
Ford Motor Co.'s Stamping and Assembly in
Hermosillo, Mexico, to be the highest quality,
builder among 80 volume-producing plants,
including Japanese.
Technician Own Their Work
ODS allows technicians "ownership" of
the jobs they perform. Supervisors give
assembly technicians basic goals and
objectives and
other key
information, such
as quality,
employee safety,
maintenance, basic
process and design
intent. Then, plant
management lets
the technician
determine and
recommend the
best way to do the
job.
The employee
partiCipates directly
in developing the
process, safety and
maintenance
requirements of the
product.
By increasing
the ability to repeat
the job perfectly
each time, ODS
has proven to have
a significan t effect
on plant quality.
Additionally,
Hermosillo officials
delegate a great
deal of authority to departmental work
groups, comprised of assembly technicians,
regarding management of their
groups. The groups
elect team
leaders
employees underwent an extensive 700-hour
training program that, in addition to teaching
basic skills like welding, instructed them on
finer points of statistical analysis and
language skills.
A number were sent to Mazda in Japan
for further training, and some even learned
Japanese as a supplement to their English. .
Although they were already among
Ford's best trained employees, the
technicians underwent another intensive
round of training to prepare for the all-new
1991 Mercury Tracer during the five month
changeover.
In addition to pre-launch
training, at any given
time, six percent of
Solid performance i provided-by
Tracer's 1.9 liter engine featuring sequential
multi-port electronic fu I injection teamed
with manual five-speed overdrive and
transaxle.
The L TS has a dual-ovemead cam 1.8
liter engine with 16 v8Jve that turns out an
impressiv 127 horsepower.
Other LTS equipment incfude a sport
handling suspension, power four-wheel disc
brakes, cast aluminum wheels, and 14-inch
low profile tires. An optional 4-speed
electronic overdrive transaxle is available on
all models.
the plant's 2,400 member workforce is
rotating th�ough on-going training.
. "We're always focusing on giving
people greater capability to control their
world," said Felix Guillen, Hermosillo plant
manager.
Technology and automaton also help
contribute to the overall quality of Mercury
Tracers built at Hermosillo. For example,
optical scanners make sure that body parts
line up properly. If not, the scanner
automatically stops the line, so any problem
can be corrected.
And, with the stamping plant attached
to the assembly plant, potential problems are
detected and remedied much eartier in the
cycle, thus preventing rework and waste.
, Robots perform more than 80 percent
of the welding. As a result, the body
I,... ... � assemblies are accurate and
consistently sound.
Hermosillo also boasts a
robotic painting system
and "clean room" spray
booths, which help eliminate
dust in the paint area.
Robotic painters help
do away with paint surface
imperfections like runs, drips
and thin coverage. This resuhs
in paint finishes that are
glossy, smooth and
durable ..
"The mindset at
Hermosillo is that we
want to be the best we
can be, best-in-class,"
Guillen said.
Among Tracer's standard features are
four-wheel independent suspension, tinted
glass, AMlFM stereo radio, two speed
windshield wipers with fixed intermittent
feature, digital clock, center console, backlit
analog gauge ,split fold rear seats, reclining
front seats and rear seat heat ducts.
Options irdude power side windows,
power door locks, air conditioning, premium
sound system, power moonroof, speed
control and tilt steering column.
The Tracer wagon offers almost 70 .
cubic feet of cargo space. Front drive and 4-
wheel independent suspension provide good
traction .and handling, as well as a smooth
ride. Other standard wagon features include
power steering and brakes, dual electric
remote control mirrors, AMlFM stereo
radio with dig hal clock, and defroster
and wiperlwasher for the rear window.
The 1992 Tracer interior features
an ergonomically-designed, wrap
around instrument panel. ihe roomy
. interior provides 91 cubic feet of space
and five-passenger seating capacity.
It is equipped with a motorized shoulder
Technology and automation contribute to the
overall quality of Tracers built at Hermo 1110.
In addition, among 105 plants, including
lUXUry car producers, the Hermosillo plant
ranked second only to Mercedes.
The plant, opened in November, 1'986,
produces the Mercury Tracer.
The report did not come as a big
, surprise to the proud Hermosillo plant
employees., Asa matter of fact, the plant's
Stamping and Assembly served as a test
bed for manufacturing and quality techniques
that are now being transfused into the
wortd-wide Ford manufacturing system.
Maintaining Th High Standard
Ford is unflagging in its efforts to try to
maintain the high standard that the
He osillo plant has set for itsetf.
For example, to prepare for the launch
of the all new 1991 Mercury Tracer, the
company invested more than $300 million on
the plant's facilhies and tooling, including an
expansion of its stamping operations. It also
continued to enhance the quality-related
employee programs that have been crucial to
the plant's success.
-Clearty," said Ford executives, "the
most important resource at Hermosillo is,
and has always been, its workforce."
Among the employee-oriented
programs Ford has implemented at
and participate in daily decision-making
processes concerning job assignments and
job rotation of team members.
In addition to designing his own job, a
Hermosillo technician troubleshoots and
maintains his own equipment, using his
training in such disciplines as electrical,
mechanical and pneumatic systems and
welding. In fact, during the retooling to produce
the current Mercury Tracer, Hermosillo
assembly technicians ctually installed and
debugged the planfs new equipment.
Employee training remains high on the
agenda. Before their first'day on the line, the
Th 1992 rcury Tracer
The 1992 Tracer produced at the
Hermosillo plant for �ercury comes in
three models: the four-door notchback
sedan, the performance-tuned L TS and
the versatile wagon.
belt restraint y em with manual lap
behs in the front seats and manual thr
point safety belts in the rear outboard
seats, with a center lap beh.