GM’s Oshawa plants get top ratings for productivity (September 01, 2003)

General Motors’ Oshawa, Ont., assembly plants are rated among the most productive automotive plants in North America, according to a report released this summer by Harbour and Associates Inc. of Troy, Mich.

The annual Harbour Report, a key industry benchmark of performance, rated Oshawa’s Number 1 plant the second most productive car assembly plant in 2002, just behind Nissan’s assembly plant in Smyrna, TN. The Oshawa Number 1 plant took 16.44 labour hours to build each Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo, while the Nissan Smyrna facility took 15.74 labour hours to assemble each Altima model.

The Oshawa Number 2 plant was rated third in overall productivity, taking 17.08 hours to build each Buick Century and Regal models.

The Oshawa truck assembly plant cut its labour time by more than half an hour, compared with last year, producing each Silverado and Sierra pickup truck in 20.41 hours. The rating made the truck plant the 11th most productive assembly operation, and the leader among big pickup operations in North America.

More details on the report can be found on the manufacturing consultant’s website, www.harbourinc.com.