[ad_1]
Like Ford Authority Exclusively reported last week, considerable time was cut from the development of the Ford Maverick 2022 thanks to the existence of the Ford C2 platform and what the automaker had already learned from its presence in the Ford Escape and the Ford Bronco Sport. But FoMoCo also did quite a few things differently during the Ford Maverick development process, which also cut that process by a full 20 months, according to a recent report from Automotive News.
It took about three years to bring the Maverick to market after it was just a blank sheet of paper, which is blazingly fast for a brand new vehicle. In addition to using an existing platform, the Maverick team also had to change the way they operated. “We did everything very differently from what we traditionally did,” said Jim Baumbick, vice president of corporate product line management, strategy and planning at Ford. Automotive News. “You couldn’t increment your way there. “
This process started by condensing the entire Maverick team into one room, then having them develop and try out new ideas in shorter, 6-8 week sessions, without a formal management review, which resulted in them developing and trying out new ideas. leads to less hesitation in proposing innovative solutions. ideas. Instead, Ford replaced those presentations with an informal visit, which took place every Friday for two hours.
Senior management could just come in, walk up to the wall and post all the critical data, then act more like servant leaders than micromanagers. “We were standing around the boards and just talking,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s product platform and operations manager. “The program teams are the experts. Management is there to help serve the team, be a coach, counselor, or help break down barriers.
In the end, Ford wanted to cut the Maverick’s development process by 25 months, so it falls a little short of that target. But the experience it has gained from this approach will be applied to other future vehicles, which should allow the automaker to go even faster in bringing them to market,
We’ll have more on the Maverick soon, so make sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Maverick news and 24/7 Ford news coverage.
[ad_2]
Source link