TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A focus on self-evaluation and self-improvement has permeated the culture at Chrysler since it went through bankruptcy and reorganization last year, and this mentality is particularly evident in the automaker's manufacturing segment, said Scott Garberding, the automaker's senior vice president of manufacturing/world class manufacturing. 

Garberding was a speaker Monday at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich. 

His speech honed in on the fact that helping the automaker achieve these strides on the manufacturing front has been the system it has implemented courtesy of Fiat — World Class Manufacturing. Garberding also touched on the overall progress Chrysler has made.

To illustrate the path Chrysler is taking, he recalled the seminar host city's ability to adapt to the shifting tides of industry over time and invoked the following quote from the late and legendary basketball coach John Wooden, "Failure is not fatal. But failure to change might be." 

"We have undertaken a brutally honest self-appraisal of where we stand in the automotive world. And we are embracing change, in recognition that our future in the industry requires it," he suggested. 

Garberding later added: "Everywhere you look around Chrysler, there is so much happening — all laying the groundwork for an exciting revival. However, nowhere at Chrysler do the winds of change blow stronger than in manufacturing." 

Garberding touched on the powertrain investments made by Chrysler, which have totaled close to $1.3 billion in the last three years, including several heavy investments since March.

"We have also invested in sophisticated simulation and CAD systems, and we make good use of them," he noted. "But frankly, if we get to what's really enabling us to make a major leap forward; it is the rollout of World Class Manufacturing. WCM, as we call it, has become a major driver of cultural change at Chrysler."

But he first emphasized that the mutual cooperation with the United Auto Workers "at all levels" has been paramount to the success.

"The union's leadership has stuck to its principles — to improve the well-being of its constituents. In so doing, the UAW has worked with us very practically, realizing that their members depend on Chrysler's success," Garberding shared.

"And this works both ways, because Chrysler's management recognizes that the company's success depends on tapping into the knowledge, creativity and dedication of the people in our plants," he noted. "We could not attain WCM's goals — improved safety, efficiency and flexibility — without the support of union members."

Through WCM, Fiat has given Chrysler a "great toolbox" that changes the automaker's production strategy at its roots. Among the "rigorous methodology" in the WCM are consistent performance audits at every plant, he emphasized.

However, it's the "human component" that makes the WCM tick.

"The system is based on a deep belief that a fully engaged work force that takes pride in its work is the primary ingredient to building the best vehicles in the world," Garberding commented.

"In short, WCM is built on the principle that the real success of our enterprise depends on the people in our manufacturing plants," he continued. "And I am confident about our future because of the passion that our teams are bringing to the changes that we are implementing today."

This system was a major element in the Fiat revitalization that began in 2004 and has continued to bear fruit over the last six years, Garberding shared. While during that period Chrysler addressed manufacturing issues and made some strides, it didn't get the success for which it was looking.

"During this same period, Chrysler also worked very hard on a number of manufacturing issues, specifically safety, quality and hours per vehicle, and made progress in those areas," he emphasized. "But in contrast with Fiat, Chrysler had limited success because we didn't, or couldn't, implement the people systems necessary to really maximize success.

"The beginning of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance in June 2009 gave us at Chrysler the opportunity to learn from our partner's experience," Garberding stated.

Each week there are 14 experts on WCM from Fiat throughout Chrysler's plants offering their assistance in getting the system started here, he pointed out.

"Very simply, World Class Manufacturing is about eliminating waste. It relies on team structures to involve our people in a way that really gets at every form of waste — waste created by injuries, waste of motion, waste of defects and more," Garberding explained. "And it recognizes that the success of our enterprise depends on the constant contribution of those who work in our plants."

He later added: "WCM demands levels of rigor and logic that were not traditional for us at Chrysler. It is impossible for us to execute at these new levels without engaging our hourly workforce in planning, execution and problem solving. WCM gives us a formal method for doing just that."

Moving on, Garberding went on to share a bit about the WCM components. He discussed how two particular items — improving the safety of plants and addressing cost deployment — make the WCM process unique and how various plans are making positive changes in these areas.

"A focus on safety underlies all activity within WCM. For example, the first several steps in improving workplace organization are also focused on safety and ergonomics," he pointed out. "Second, cost deployment. A rigorous cost deployment process is another factor that differentiates WCM from other lean manufacturing systems.

"Cost deployment begins with identifying the major causes of waste in a plant — the cancers, so to speak. This allows our teams to focus their efforts on the areas that cause the most pain and direct resources toward activities with the greatest potential to make a difference," Garberding added.

Among other key areas he addressed were restoring and keeping plants and equipment in good condition as well as quality control.

He then shared how the audit process has helped the plants. Though a "detailed, painful process" that examines "brutal facts," it can teach a great deal.

"You're cut no slack, you hear about all of your opportunities, and once you get over grimacing, you learn a lot," Garberding shared. "That's the real the purpose for it. It's for the plants to understand how they employ these principles … how they deploy where they've got to go next … and what they've got to do to stay on track from a progress perspective."

What Garberding called "good news" is that many of these projects have already spawned positive change with some plants making significant strides.

In fact, he claimed that the organization is on pace to hit the following goals for the year:

—For injuries to be reduced by 30 percent.

—For operating costs to be cut by 8 percent.

—For productivity to climb 10 percent.

—For first-time quality to climb 15 percent.

"Our entire organization is excited about where we're headed," Garberding noted. "We understand that this is a people business, and that investing in our people is the best way we can be competitive making vehicles"