Why Ford lost 72,000 vehicles
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A FORD man who asked why many of the company's plants failed consistently to achieve their planned outputs got a straight answer from the horse's mouth. Bill Hayden, vice president, manufacturing, told him that there were five reasons for the "loss" of 72,000 vehicles that could have been built in the first 10 months of 1984.
The British factories were, he said, at a disadvantage compared with the Continental plants because of unofficial strikes; breakdowns of machinery and delays in repair; too much shoddy work to be corrected; waste of productive time at the beginning and end of each shift and at lunch breaks, and inflexibility of workers.
Meanwhile, four Continental factories meet their targets day in, day out. Multiply Ford's experience by a few big companies and you have the measure of Britain's uncompetitive ness.