ArvinMeritor wins Shingo Prize for lean manufacturing practices

March 22, 2004
ArvinMeritor, Inc. announced today that its Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) Gladstone Avenue exhaust manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ind., is a 2004 recipient of the coveted Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing.

ArvinMeritor, Inc. announced today that its Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) Gladstone Avenue exhaust manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ind., is a 2004 recipient of the coveted Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing.

"Receiving the Shingo Prize is a great honor and a testament to the company's continuous improvement culture. That culture is inspiring our employees to redesign traditional practices into processes that reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction," said Keith Warf, vice president of global operations, LVS Air and Emissions Technologies.

"Through an engaged workforce of more than 700 people, the facility has made substantial quality and productivity improvements. Today, Gladstone's operations focus on lean manufacturing principles, team-building and employee involvement practices." The Shingo Prize is administered by the College of Business at Utah State University. It is the only industrial excellence award, in the world, that focuses on lean manufacturing principles that were first implemented in the Toyota Production System.

LVS Gladstone's achievements include a 72% decrease in customer PPMs since 2000, a 99% decrease in supplier PPMs since 2000, a 54% decrease in the cost of non-quality since 2000, and an on-time delivery average of 99.9% since 1999.