---

Delphi Accepts Manufacturing Awards

12 May 2000

Delphi Accepts Manufacturing Awards

         Two Plants Awarded Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence

    MILWAUKEE, May 11 A leading Delphi Automotive Systems
executive said today that the company's transformation to lean
manufacturing is necessary to meet customer demands for the highest quality
products delivered accurately and quickly at the most competitive price.
    Rodney O'Neal, Delphi executive vice president and president of Delphi's
Safety, Thermal & Electrical Architecture sector discussed how Delphi is
becoming lean during an address of the 12th Annual Shingo Prize Conference &
Awards Ceremony here today.  Two of Delphi's high-tech manufacturing
operations will receive the 2000 Shingo Prize for Manufacturing Excellence
tonight.  The sites are Delphi Steering Systems Plant 6 in Saginaw, Mich., and
Delphi Interior Systems CMM Operations in Matamoros, Mexico.  Delphi's RIMIR
Operations in Matamoros, Mexico, was a recipient of the Shingo Prize in 1999.
O'Neal attributed the awards to the plants' manufacturing achievements as a
result of their aggressive adoption of Delphi's lean manufacturing process
called the Delphi Manufacturing System (DMS).  Modeled on the principals of
the Toyota Production System, DMS focuses on transitioning the corporation's
traditional manufacturing process to time-based flow manufacturing.  "The
Shingo Prize recognition represents significant achievements for these plants,
the corporation and especially for the people and communities in which they
operate," O'Neal said.
    DMS is a common lean process across Delphi that employs six interdependent
elements aimed at improving the entire flow of the value chain and reducing
current process complexities.  The elements include:  employee environment and
involvement; work place organization; quality; operational availability;
material movement; and flow manufacturing.  "These elements focus the
organization toward providing the customer with what they want, when they want
it, in the right quantity and at the highest level of quality," O'Neal said.
    He also discussed how Delphi has applied DMS principals to non-
manufacturing activities such as engineering and administrative functions.
"Focusing solely on operations is incorrect.  Instead, we need to highlight
and eliminate waste in everything we do across the entire enterprise."
    Delphi is also educating its own suppliers about lean, encouraging them to
use similar lean practices to streamline design, engineering and production
operations into their logistics networks.  "Our material and logistic
suppliers need to instill lean thinking into everything they do by focusing on
waste elimination in all logistical lanes and channels at every port, airport,
distribution center and trucking company.
    "In this age of rapid change and increasing customer demands, there is no
other way than to be fast and responsive.  This is a huge challenge, but I
believe Delphi's approach to lean across the entire enterprise will allow us
to meet the challenge."
    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.