On the Road Again: The Buckeye and Bluegrass Bus Tour

“I think it’s human nature to get comfortable in performing one’s work, but it’s amazing the insights that fresh eyes on a process can share with you,” said Louis Jennings, UAW 1219 employee resource coordinator at Lima Engine Plant, who was a part of the first stop of last week’s Ford Production System (FPS) Bus Tour.

In just four days and over hundreds of miles, 54 UAW and Ford team members — from hourly employees to plant managers to the vice president of manufacturing — toured four Ford plants: Lima Engine, Sharonville Transmission, Kentucky Truck and Louisville Assembly Plant. This group of employees came together from across Ford’s manufacturing team with more than 1,500 years of combined experience. The “fresh eyes” insight from the bus tour accelerated learnings and relationships across the company, advancing lean FPS processes and promoting a one team mindset.

“No matter what department or plant team they were from, the bus tour participants asked great questions and showed interest in what we do and how we do it,” said Nicole Creech, team leader at Sharonville Transmission Plant. “Fellow Team Leader Dave Pence and I presented to the group about our area in heat treat, where gears get baked in various stages. Everyone was enthusiastic and engaged. Bringing in people from outside our plant opened us up to new information and questions that got our team thinking. In my 23 years at Ford, I have never experienced anything like it before.”

The concept of the bus tours was created by Bryce Currie, vice president, Americas Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, for Ford Blue. Driven by a servant leadership mindset, Currie has been part of over 40 tours in his career since launching the concept. Servant leadership is a new way that Ford’s manufacturing leadership team is stepping up to change plant culture and embody a one-team mindset.

“Bryce was always on with endless energy and passion; it was contagious,” shared Steven Szymanski, global FPS coach in Powertrain. “The tour was such a great experience. I got to meet a ton of people and see plants I had never been to. I don’t think Ford has ever done anything like this.”

At each stop, both hourly and salary team members at the plant led the bus tour participants through onsite reviews, diving into the elements of FPS and sharing best practices. At the end of each tour, the plant received feedback on their lean manufacturing maturity and where they have opportunities to improve.

“Bottom line: Everyone’s comments and insights matter,” said Jennings. “We’re looking forward to discussing the feedback from last week’s tour and the steps we can take to continue to improve.”

Among the four plants, the bus tour had the chance to interact with 15,000 Ford employees, and the participants gave 200+ recognitions to employees demonstrating the Ford OS behaviors. Collaboration was a central theme on the tour.

“We got to feel that personal connection across our company,” said Global FPS Lean Strategist Amel Saad about how strong relationships and better communication have accelerated lean implementation. “The tour reinforced a family environment and made me feel like we are all in this together.”

Innovation was evident at every plant: All four had a best practice to share with the team on the bus. At Lima Engine, the plant was recognized for a cutter grind, cost-saving project. Louisville Assembly shared their innovation with air leak and thermal imaging, as well utilizing AI to assist in the production of instruction manual. Kentucky Truck had excellent control center connectivity, plus inspiring team and community engagement. At Sharonville Transmission, the bus tour participants were blown away by the 3D printing technology that was saving the plant significant costs. 

“Every single plant had a best practice to share,” said Currie. “Now we need to take these innovations and quickly replicate them. Collaboration on innovation is key — that is what makes a great company, and that is what drives us to best-in-world in manufacturing.”

The tour helped team members both on and off the bus think in a new way, generating new ideas to improve safety, quality, flow and cost. At the conclusion of the tour, each participant took their learnings from the tour and made three commitments (over 150 commitments total) to take back to their own plants, all aimed at the continued growth and success of Ford. 

In addition to improving lean processes and building new relationships at each plant, participants took the opportunity to partner with the local plants and give back to the community.

“One of the servant leadership characteristics that we live by at Ford is community building – coming together for a common purpose,” said Rima Jasser, Global Director, Lean and Six Sigma. Over the course of the bus tour, the team sponsored two charities – Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Crohn’s and Colitis – and raised more than $8,000. “I am so proud of our team members on the bus and the employees at Louisville, Kentucky, Sharonville Transmission and Lima Engine Plants for their kind and giving hearts!”

The Buckeye and Bluegrass Bus Tour was the second tour so far under Currie’s leadership. In May, the first FPS bus tour of 50+ manufacturing team members visited Dearborn Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant, Windsor Engine Plant, and the Oakville Assembly Complex. Both bus tours have been met with resounding praise from the plant teams, and additional tours are already being planned for later this year.