LEAN: A Paradigm Shift
2/24/2006

ANOTHER MILESTONE

DETROIT, MI – Detroit Chassis LLC, an automotive manufacturing company of niche vehicles and RV chassis, announced today that it has successfully reached another milestone in its lean journey. The foundation of lean assessment, strategic business solutions and lean champion training is done. The next leg of the journey, build the environment and adjust the culture, is off to a major start. A new team has been formed. A major investment in human capital has been made and the return on investment has already begun to show.

DCP had the vision to shift its organizational paradigm several years ago and have steadfastly maintained a focused approach to lean implementation company-wide. Michael Guthrie, President & CEO, determined several years ago that to remain competitive, DCP could not afford to do business as usual. The company had to undergo a paradigm shift.

Professor Thomas Kuhn Ph. D. Harvard University is given credit for the popular use of the term “paradigm shift”. The term means a change from one way of thinking to another way of thinking. It is a revolution, a transformation, and a sort of metamorphosis. Put another way, a paradigm shift is changing from one way of thinking to another. Some everyday examples could be how we think about telephones and cell phones, or how we think about the Internet and the yellow pages, or banking and ATM machines.

Get the picture?

DCP’s lean journey is a paradigm shift; a change in the way the lean journey will be traveled. Some of the benefits of a lean paradigm shift were evident recently with the formulation of a lean team that is cross-functional in design, innovative in approach, and bold in execution. This lean team consisting of the following: Deondria Hammond, Sharon Humphrey, Ken Sigler, Jeff McCoy and Jasmin Young all from Operations; Kevin Kaczmarek, from VSS and Don Taylor from SBD represents each function of DCP and has a mission to reach one and teach one creating lean coaches in every nook and cranny. The lean philosophy of team based, continuous improvement at the Gemba (place where work takes place) is what makes DCP’s lean journey so much fun. We are all involved!

Contact: Linda Ratliff, 313-571-2100 x 506, lratliff@detroitchassis.com