Delphi's Manufacturing Excellence Rewarded with 2 Shingo Prizes
17 April 2000
Delphi's Manufacturing Excellence Rewarded with 2 Shingo Prizes
TROY, Mich., April 17 Delphi Automotive Systems
(NYSE: DPH) announced today that two of its high-tech manufacturing operations
have been named recipients of the prestigious Shingo Prize for Manufacturing
Excellence.
Delphi's CMM Operations in Matamoros, Mexico, and Plant 6 Operations in
Saginaw, Mich., will receive the honors at Shingo's 12th annual awards
ceremony next month. Rodney O'Neal, executive vice president of Delphi
Automotive Systems and president of Delphi's Safety, Thermal & Electrical
Architecture Sector made the announcement.
Established in 1988, the annual Shingo Prize is awarded to manufacturers
in North America that demonstrate excellence in manufacturing leading to
superior customer satisfaction and business performance. The prize is named
after Japanese industrialist Shigeo Shingo, who helped to create and document
many just-in-time manufacturing methods, systems and processes which make up
the industry-renowned Toyota Production System.
"These two awards demonstrate Delphi's commitment to lean manufacturing
and our ability to execute our improvement strategies across Delphi," O'Neal
said. "We are proud to be second- and third-time recipients of this
distinguished industry award." Delphi's RIMIR Operations in Matamoros, Mexico
earned the Shingo Prize in 1999.
"We will also use this recognition to continue to drive waste out of our
operations around the world. Our objective it to use this occasion to get
better," he said.
Delphi Interior Systems CMM Operations produces steering wheels, airbag
module covers and instrument panels, including the award-winning, fully
recyclable Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) instrument panel skin. The Shingo
organization cited the plant for superior quality, safety performance, and
delivery. CMM logged 7.7 million work-hours without a lost workday in 1999,
and has delivered its products 100 percent on time for the last 19 years.
Delphi Saginaw Steering Systems Plant 6 Operations manufactures energy-
absorbing steering columns and components for automakers worldwide. In 1999,
plant employees and management cooperatively implemented lean manufacturing
processes, rearranging 81 percent of the plant floor and removing more than
200 pieces of equipment which were barriers to material flow. The
transformation was accomplished while fully maintaining production schedules.
Plant 6 was also named one of IndustryWeek magazine's 10 best plants in North
America in 1999, and holds several customer awards for safety, quality and
delivery.
Delphi's lean manufacturing process, called the Delphi Manufacturing
System, focuses on transitioning the corporation's traditional manufacturing
practices to time-based flow manufacturing. "Improving competitiveness from a
manufacturing perspective is achieved by the elimination of waste," O'Neal
said. "These two world-class facilities have made exceptional advances in
eliminating waste from their entire operations, while improving their overall
performance in safety, delivery, quality and especially customer
satisfaction."
O'Neal will further discuss the worldwide implementation of lean
manufacturing and the advantages of the Delphi Manufacturing System as a
keynote speaker at the Shingo Annual Conference & Awards Ceremony on May 11 in
Milwaukee.
Based in Logan, Utah, at the Utah State University's College of Business,
the Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence is available to manufacturers in
the U.S., Canada and Mexico and to researchers throughout the world. The
philosophy of the award is that world-class status may be achieved through
focused improvements in core manufacturing processes, implementing lean, just-
in-time philosophies and systems, eliminating waste, and achieving zero
defects, while continuously improving products and costs. The Shingo Prize
board of examiners is a cross section of North American manufacturing experts.
Delphi Automotive Systems, headquartered in Troy, Mich., USA, is a world
leader in transportation and mobile electronics components and systems
technology. Delphi's three business sectors -- Dynamics & Propulsion; Safety,
Thermal & Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile Communications --
provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer needs. Delphi has
approximately 214,200 employees, and operates 178 wholly owned manufacturing
sites, 41 joint ventures, 53 customer centers and sales offices and 27
technical centers in 39 countries. Regional headquarters are located in
Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Delphi can be found on the Internet at
http://www.delphiauto.com .