Hyundai sketch teases new version of Alabama-made model
By Dawn Kent Azok
on August 25, 2015 at 12:02 PM
Hyundai is revealing new details about the redesign of its Elantra compact, a car that is produced at the company’s Montgomery factory.
The Korean automaker has released a teaser image of the updated model, giving clues about its styling cues.
The Elantra, Hyundai’s top-selling car in the U.S., is produced in Alabama for the North American market. But the model, which is sold globally and badged as the Avante in some markets, also is built at other Hyundai plants.
For the rest of the story visit AL.com.
How to Grok the Muda
William Levinson, principal, Levinson Productivity Systems
Aug 25, 2015
Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land defines “grok” as “to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes a part of the observed.” A real mechanic, for example, groks a machine while a parts changer can only follow directions to change a part. ISO 9001:2015’s provision for “actions to address risks and opportunities” underscores the need to similarly grok the concept of waste or muda.
Taiichi Ohno (1988, 59), the father of the Toyota production system described this issue in detail.
“To implement the Toyota production system in your own business, there must be a total understanding of waste. Unless all sources of waste are detected and crushed, success will always be just a dream.”
For the rest of the article visit Industry Week.
3-D printing accelerates Honda Pilot development
Neal E. Boudette Automotive News
August 24, 2015 – 12:01 am ET
DETROIT — Automakers are again taking a run at accelerating vehicle development, this time with an assist from 3-D printing.
The latest example comes from Honda, whose just-launched 2016 Pilot is the product of a new computer-driven process in which the automaker eliminated hand-built prototypes.
The approach cut “several months” from the nearly three-year effort from when the new Pilot was envisioned to the start of mass production, said Jeff Tomko, president of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, the assembly complex in Lincoln where the Pilot is built.
For the rest of the story visit Auto News.