100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials may be under copyright. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission. If you have questions about the collection, please contact the Bentley Historical Library at bentley.ref@umich.edu

March 22, 1992 - Image 7

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
Michigan Citizen, 1992-03-22

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

This Week In
Black Histoi y
Which BIacJc reformer at­
tempted to integrate public
t1'tl(I.fpOrtI1 In the South at
torIy as 1941?
lWJO is thelllllhorf("MonchiJd
in thePrani.JtJdLDnd?
MAROf26, 1939-·ue.1IIOr
RDmewIt Jaigned fJOm DAR
wbta it bIRd M8IrlDaA.DC ....
from � in Qatiludoo HaD.
1911 - H. LewII be-
came IIDDCy gaaal tbr
US. 1872 - 'lbomMJ. MartIn
WE awarded pateot fbi fire extin­
gWsbt"z. 1934 - DoaaId ,
drummer, bom. 1962 -
AuI!_Sa acuIpIR:Is, died.
WhichrdigiousgfOllp'Ml.fjint
to � Blocks Oft m /nIegt'tllltJd
basi.r and wiIhaIt re.strictJor&f?
MARCH Z1, 1951 - the
Univelsity of Nordl QuoIina ad­
miled ilS flJst Black student. 1928
Vi siqp', WM
bcm 1934-
�, dDcogt1pbI:r, WE born.
1979 - Parvin "Maak"
J Ica1 Michigan Slate '>
NCAAtitle,earningMVP I¥lmrs.
lWIo tmS' the jMndtr of the
AtIotrIDLife 11&fU1't1f1« Canptlny?
, MARCH 28, 1925 -
Amedaal NfIl'O labor em-
orpnbI:d. 1925 -
Poet CouIdee JeCdwd
Ixnny N.Y.U. Phi Beta Kappa
�.lm-N York
1,.< tn outlawed slavery.
18'70- S. W be­
camebfilstB1ackS1ate�
Q)urt Justice in South carolina.
1896 - (PIne top)
blues singer, born.
m.c. is the IWIIt1l pel' Clf'itlJ
incmte in the nadota if Haiti?
ANSWERS TO BLACK
HISTORY QUESTIONS
l2Dd-0c0rgeB. �1S.
n"II - Fourteen between
1875m!1002.
24dl- � Bayard R\8-
tin.
l!idl-QaudeBrownofNcw
YOtkCty. '
26th - Quakers - tbe
Soddy ofPlieJd, in 17528t Otz­
mantowD, PA. Not wi1bo a
l7Ib-CC�
-AbcU$UD. '
DFTandO �
still don't know
it, the de intion i' till
D
n ti
tion of Te chen d the
Org mutton of School Ad-
ministr&to nd Supervi 0
were Invited to disc the lm-
plementa on of empo erment.
Without ayln hether they
personally greed with the pi n,
DFr nd OSAS memben told
board members they ould ta e
the Information b c to their con­
stituents. Both repre entative
did, reportedly say, that· em­
powerment the way tbey under-
o
The fre work hop, d Ign d for young 81 e m
ge 13 to 15 y r old, will Includ dl cu on
pi nnlng for higher ducatlon, h Ith w r n
management nd d cl lon-m king.
For ppllc tlon and furth r Information pi
863-8439.
II
De dUne for ppllcatlon
March 22, 1992.
Hennosillo is a process called Ouality
Deployment System (ODS), designed to
improve quality through extensive employee
involvement.
Technician oi'k .
aDS allow technicians·ow rship" of
the jobs they perform. Supervisors
assembly technicians basic goals and
objectives and
other key
infonnation, such
as quality,
employee safety,
maintenance, ba .
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 anij
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.
Additiona"y,
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
The
and participate in daily decision-making
processes concerning job aSSignments and
job rotation of team members.
In addition to designing his own job a
Hennosillo 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
current Mercury Tracer, Hennosillo
mbty technicians actually installed and
debugged the planfs ne equipment..
Employ training remain high on the
agenda. Before th ir fi t day on the line, the
Ina recen�y published book called, The
Machine That Changed The Wond, M.I.T.,
one of the foremost engineering schools in
the U.S., reported that n a WOOd-wide survey
conducted bet¥! 1984 and 1 , it found
Ford Motor Co.'s Stamping and Assembly in
Hermosillo, MeX.ico. to be the h' hest quality
builder among 80 volume-produCing plants,
including Japanese.
Technology and automation contribute to the
oy II quality of Tracers bulH It Hermo 1110.
In addition, among 105 plants, including
lUXUry car producers, the Hermosillo plant
ranked second only to Mercedes.
The plant, opened in November, 1986,
produces the Mercury Tracer.
The report did not come as a big
surprise to the proud Hennosillo plant
employees. As a 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
wond-wide Ford manufacturing system. .
Maintaining Th High Standard
Ford is unflagging in its e�orts to try to
maintain the high standard that the
Hennosillo plant has set for itself.
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 facilities and tooling, including an
expansion of its stamping operations. It aJso
continued to enhance the quality-related
employee programs that have been cruciaJ to
the plant's success. •
"C arty ," said Ford executives, �e
most important resource at Hermosillo is,
and has always been, its ortdorce."
Among the emp oyee-oriented
programs Ford has implemented at
employees underwent an extensive 700-hour
training program that, in addition to teaching
basic skills like welding, instructed, them on
finer points of statistical a . and
'1.
A number were sent to Mal in Japan
tor further training, and some van learned
Japanese as a supplement to their E .
AlthOugh y re ready among
Ford's best trained emp'oy , the
technictans underwent another int
round of training to prepare for the
1991 Mercury Tracer during the five month
changeover.
In addition to pre-launch
tra;ning, at any given
time, six percent of
Solid performance' provided by
Tracer's 1.9 liter engine featuring sequential
mutti·port e ectronic fuel injection teamed
manual fiv ov rdrive and
, ,
.
a dual-overhead cam 1.8
16 that tu out an
ImDn!MSSiY' e 127 horsepower.
Other L TS equipment includes sport
handling suspension. power four-wheel .
, cast aluminum , and 14-inch
low protHe tires. An optionaI .... speed
electronic overdrive transaxJe on
all modefs.
. ,
the plant's 2,400 member wortdoroe .
rotating through on-going training. •
"'Ne're always focusing on giving
people greater capability to control their
wond," said Felix GuiHen, HermosiHo plant
manager.
Technology and automation also help
contribute to the overall qualitY of Mercury
Tracers built at Hennosillo. For example,
optical scanners make sure that body parts
line up property. If not, the scanner
automaticalty stops the line so any problem
can be corrected.
And, with the stamping plant attached
to the assembty plant, potential problems are
detected and remedied much eanier in the
cycle, thus preventing rework and waste.
Robots perform more than 80 percent'
of the welding. As a r ult, the body
assemblies are accurate and
consisten�y 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, dnps
and thin coverage. This re ults
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 f tur are
. four-wheel independent suspension, tinted
glass, AMlFM stereo radio, two
windshield wipe with fixed intermittent
feature, digital clock. Center console, backlit
analog gauges, . fold rear , reclining
front seats and rear t heat ducts.
Options inctude power side 'ndows,
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 c,argo space. Front drive and 4-
wheel independent suspen ion provide good
traction and handling, as well as a smooth
ride. Other standard wagon features lncIude
power steering and brakes, dual electric '
remote control mirrors, AMlFM stereo
radio with digital clock, and defroster
nd wiperlwasher for the rear window.
The 1992 Tracer interior featur
an ergonomicalty-designed, wr�.
around instrument panel. The roomy
interior provides 91 cubic f t of apace
and fIVe-passenger ting capacity.
It is equipped with a motorized shoulder
T 1992
The 1992 Tracer produced
Hermosillo plant for Mercury comes in
thr models: the four-door notchback
sedan, the performance-tuned L TS and
the versatile wagon.

Back to Top

© 2025 Regents of the University of Michigan