How BMW Deals With an Aging Workforce

[G_j]

more re: Germany and workers:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/05/sunday/main6837469.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea

Sept. 5, 2010

How BMW Deals With an Aging Workforce

Special Shoes and Bigger Type on Computer Screens Boosts Productivity on German Assembly Line by 7%

<snip>

BMW could force its aging workers to retire, or even fire them. But Mauermann said that's not the solution.

"That might be the simple way to solve the problem, but we have a social contract within Germany, or at the BMW group, where we say, that's not the solution we will look for - especially since we don't have enough younger people to replace , so it wouldn't work even if we wanted to," he said.

In what the Harvard Business Review called "an experiment defusing its demographic time bomb," BMW decided to look ahead.

Management have tinkered with one assembly line in one division of a huge auto plant, and turned it older overnight. They staffed it so that the average age of workers would be 47 - exactly what it's projected to be seven years from now.

They then asked the workers how to make things better.

When workers said their feet hurt, the company made them special shoes, and put in wooden floors. Some got a place to sit: a hairdresser's chair, modified for the assembly line.

[Prometheus Bound]

1. "We have a social contract within Germany."

Love it!

[malaise]

53. You know liberal democracy is supposed to be

a social contract across the globe. Sadly it is now contract with capitalist corporations and not the people.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. What would it take to get something like that here?

[DeSwiss]

4. A revolution. n/t

[femrap]

47. ....

:spray:

I wasn't expecting The Truth.

[TalkingDog]

5. They used to teach the idea of a social contract in something called "Social Studies"

But they couldn't test for a conscience on the End of Year Test.....

so social studies was stricken from the curriculum...

[WinkyDink]

39. Thank you. THIS is why and how I tried to teach Lit: to impart "stuff", but mostly a social

conscience.

[Taitertots]

7. Start charging $30,000 for the cheapest car

[Chan790]

40. Actually BMWs in Germany are cheaper on average than Fords here.

Of course, BMWs in Germany are more utilitarian and less luxury with things like cloth seats, smaller diesel engines and without luxuries like CD players and sunroofs.

They only export the higher end models.

[gristy]

3. What a clever experiment

Management have tinkered with one assembly line in one division of a huge auto plant, and turned it older overnight. They staffed it so that the average age of workers would be 47 - exactly what it's projected to be seven years from now.

[Taitertots]

6. It is amazing what you can do if you don't make affordable cars

Are you going to pay $30,000 for an Aveo so the workers can have special shoes and chairs?

[Prometheus Bound]

8. I didn't think shoes and chairs were that expensive.

[Taitertots]

10. Did you think they were only going to buy one and share it?

[Prometheus Bound]

13. No I didn't.

I assumed they were intending to provide them for a portion of the workforce that needed them.

How much were you thinking they would cost - shoes and a chair each?

[G_j]

15. we're getting

to the Scrooge level here!
:scared:

[Prometheus Bound]

18. Damn! "SHOES? You say you want SHOES? We can't afford SHOES!"

[Taitertots]

20. We could if we charged three times as much for our cheapest model

Are you going to pay $30,000 for an Aveo so they can have shoes?

[Prometheus Bound]

21. I realize you're just being silly.

:)

[Taitertots]

24. No, if you expect manufacturers to run like BMW, expect to pay BMW prices

[Prometheus Bound]

28. This is like talking to a tree stump.

[femrap]

48. I've talked to tree stumps....

I think you're talking to dirt.

[G_j]

29. so you have to pay cheap, to make cheap stuff.

well yea, that's the 'free' market, seeking the lowest common denominator.
Think: sweatshops.

[bettyellen]

11. less than traning young folks it would seem.

[DemoTex]

14. The shoes are made in Viet Nam sweatshops by children, among others.

What a contrast: BMW in Germany and Nike in Viet Nam.

[bettyellen]

9. ha ha ....does it say anywhere that this is costly for their business? oh yeah, it DOESN"T.

[Taitertots]

16. It says the experiment cost $50,000

Maybe you need that larger type so you can actually read the article you want to discuss.

[Prometheus Bound]

17. But it didn't say it was costly.

Maybe you missed the productivity increase.

Consider glasses.

[Taitertots]

19. It didn't say it caused them to save money either n/t

[Zhade]

22. Um, increased productivity means costs go down. That's, like, basic economics.

Shit, even I know that.

[Taitertots]

25. Do you know how productivity increases effect overall costs?

Obviously not

[bettyellen]

31. they got 7% more labor and less mistakes less sickdays, and shockingly this saves the company money

WTF?

[bettyellen]

26. actually , it clearly stated that..

[bettyellen]

23. i love that he made youngsters mistakes, inattention to detail, not thinking things through at all..

it;s quite fitting, and a bit fun to watch this one parade his dumb assumption here.

[Occulus]

34. Search his username.

It's... enlightening.

[Ikonoklast]

44. Yeah, just another one flying under the radar.

I dismiss what it says out of hand.

[G_j]

12. Other things also changed:

"Other things also changed: Productivity went up seven percent. Absenteeism fell below the plant's average.

And this assembly line's defect rate dropped to zero."


& obviously someone buys the cars

[napi21]

30. You don't have to mfg. anything that's expensive to care about your employees! nt

[leveymg]

35. BMW makes the Mini - MSRP $18,950

I don't know anyone who loves their Chevy Aveo, do you?

[WinkyDink]

37. I paid more for a Toyota Camry.

[Touchdown]

51. I'm going to go on a limb and say you've never been to Germany, have you?

BMW makes basic no frills cars, complete with crank windows, stick shifts and AM only radios for their domestic German car market. So does Mercedes, Peugeot, Citroen and Alfa Romeo for that matter.

Even Americans are paid too much to make Aveos.

[applegrove]

27. I guess this will be Germany's century. They seem to have thoughtfull ways

of keeping workers happy. Plus their recession is over. They are doing something right.

[TheDebbieDee]

32. Their recession is over because they didn't have

obstructing repukes bent on keeping the economy trashed so they could talk badly about their President's economic policy in the upcoming elections!

[applegrove]

33. Creepy isn't it? I could easily see some wingnut CEO subconsciously not hiring

because he wants to stick it to obama. Some ceo type went ballistic when the Dems talked about allowing tax cuts to expire on the rich and said "this is war". I think they have been at war with Obama for a long time and this is also their time to undo unions which could also explain why they would like a long recession...more time to get concessions from unions. But germany doesn't have that problem because of the creative ways they have unions involvement in big business. Of course CEOs have been at war with Unions since Reagan fired the air traffic controllers.

[Diclotican]

41. applegrove

applegrove

Or it can be that the german unions are little to powerfull to topple just for the fun of it.. And the german unions have also been part of Germany politic since 1945, when US made it a policy, to build up a powerfull union, who could cunteract some of the big money powers.... And also secure that no new Hitler could araise from the ashes of Germany..

Maybe something US should have doing also?

Instead of Union bustning, they should have made Unions strong, to fight this ilks who had been stealing everything for the last couple of decades over there...

Diclotican

[femrap]

49. They also don't have a huge

Pentagon and a couple of wars to pay for.

They offer great apprentice programs. Great craftsmanship.

I always try to buy German-made products. They can't be beat. Bosch dishwashers....unbelievable. I wish I could afford one right now. I used to sell them.

[Solly Mack]

36. "...we have a social contract within Germany..."

k/r

[xchrom]

38. recommend

[TBF]

42. K&R nt

[G_j]

43. ==

[Octafish]

45. BMW during the war was something else.

BMW's Quandt Family Faces Its Nazi Past: A shocking documentary aired on German TV exposes the family's shameful history of Nazi profiteering and use of slave labor

The family and company were not alone. I want people to know the back story...

[G_j]

50. Thanks Octafish!

some very crucial history that I forgot....

[Touchdown]

52. That's across the board amongst all German companies.

Daimler Benz, Porsche, Bosch, BASF, Grundig, the list goes on. The only exception would probably be Volkswagen because it became it's own company after the war with the Marshall plan.

[femrap]

46. Ergonomics.....

it's a great way to help workers become productive and happy.

American biz boyz are to selfish, stupid, short-sighted, and greedy to get that.

[southernyankeebelle]

54. I have lived and worked with Germans. There schoolling is set up different from ours. It is a

pretty good system. Some of the kids go on to a trade. They are hired by business and they work and get paid. Employees are treated very well. They have what is called a Kindergald. A mother gets off after the birth of their child and they get to stay home for almost a year and they get paid. Also they get paid extra for each child they have because the birth rate is low. However, many people are upset because the Turk's take advantage of it. They have many children and they claim children back in their country. I don't blame them. What I like about the German system is families come first. Children are treated very well as they should be. Thank god for their unions. Unions have helped their people. We need to get back with our unions. The republicans fear unions. I wish the american people would stop the whining and stand up for your yourself and fellow workers. Nothing will be accomplished until the republicans put the nail into the coffin of the working people in this country. Once they have finished then maybe even the teabaggers will wise up and join humanity.