Chrysler’s Goal: Lead Industry in Quality by 2012

Doug Betts, senior vice president of quality at Chrysler since 2007, says the company will lead the industry in quality by the year 2012. Betts acknowledges there are issues that need to be corrected, but that employees are actively calling them out and working to address them.

“People are talking openly about problems now and how to fix (them),” he said.

In recent years, Chrysler has been plagued by quality issues, and believes weakened consumer demand for its products is directly related. In order to counter the latter, the company is ready to fight the former. Betts told The Detroit News that everything from management to manufacturing processes have been reworked as part of the “new Chrysler.”

Betts has also increased the quality team to 1700 employees, up from the 200 employed by the group when he joined it. Chrysler has spent only $240 million in warranty work this year, down 30 percent from last year, but still has a ways to go in improving its figures.

Last year, some 75 percent of quality issues were design related. That number has dropped to 50 percent, while the other half stem from problems in manufacturing. To correct those problems, Chrysler has implemented Fiat’s “world-class manufacturing” methods, which have re-educated factory workers, cleaned production facilities, and implemented strict auditing of assembly practices.

Source: The Detroit News