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2026 Ford China Plant Manager Summit: “To Embrace World-Class Standards, We Must First Empty Our Cups.”

Nov 01, 2026

点击链接阅读中文版本：空杯心态，方能装下世界级标准

Click to Enlarge

On October 28, the 2026 Ford China Plant Managers’ Summit opened at Changan Ford’s Hangzhou plant. Experts in manufacturing, quality, maintenance, safety, environmental management and logistics from Ford China, Changan Ford and JMC gathered to share lean manufacturing experience and identify opportunities for improvement through on-site assessments, advancing collaboration and continuous improvement across Ford China’s manufacturing operations.

Attendees included Bryce Currie, Ford’s global Chief Manufacturing Officer; Jackie DiMarco, Vice President of Industrial Systems, Ford China; Rima Jasser, Ford’s global Director of the Ford Production System and 6-Sigma; John Mullins, Director of Manufacturing and Quality, Ford China; and Jason Ai, President of Changan Ford.

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    Bryce Currie, Ford’s global Chief Manufacturing Officer
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Following a review of Ford Production System (FPS) performance over the first three quarters, representatives from each operating system outlined their strategic priorities and action plans for 2027:

  • Environmental Operating System (EOS): Set priorities for water use, waste management, carbon reduction and renewable energy, with an emphasis on compliance and cost reduction.
  • Maintenance Operating System (MOS): Focused on bottleneck management and improved equipment uptime, using AI to enable predictive maintenance.
  • Delivery Operating System (DOS): Centered on planning, logistics, inventory and execution management, guided by the FIT vision.
  • Quality Operating System (QOS): Prioritized recall prevention, traceability of critical parts and execution of quality processes.
  • Safety Operating System (SOS): Explored the path toward zero serious safety incidents through safer material handling, pedestrian and vehicle safety, and safety improvement activities.

2026 Plant Manager Summit Click to Enlarge
2026 Plant Manager Summit Click to Enlarge
2026 Plant Manager Summit Click to Enlarge

“Servant leadership to empower our people and develop their talents.”

Bryce Currie emphasized that leaders must embrace a servant leadership mindset and listen more closely to frontline employees. To ensure that employee ideas lead to improvements, he urged managers to spend time on the shop floor, support frontline teams and quickly turn their suggestions into action—so that employees feel respected and valued. He also stressed that strategic action plans must be grounded in an honest assessment of current conditions and benchmarked against world-class best practices, with continuous progress as the goal.

Currie and his delegation toured the Hangzhou plant’s stamping, body, paint and final assembly shops, as well as its Innovation and Improvement Center. He praised the plant’s efforts to encourage employees to share ideas, design and modify tools and fixtures, accelerate production, strengthen error-proofing and correction, and improve ergonomics. He also noted that making results visible in real time is essential to building frontline employees’ confidence and satisfaction.

He challenged the team to continue improving and play a strong role in delivering “in China, for the world.”

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    The executives in the Gemba Walk
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The summit placed particular emphasis on hands-on exercises, giving plant leaders opportunities to engage with and understand the principles behind the processes.

The program included dedicated training and group exercises on the X-matrix. A tool for strategy deployment, the X-matrix connects three- to five-year strategic priorities with annual objectives, key initiatives, KPIs and accountable owners. It is scheduled for official implementation in 2027.

During the feedback sessions, teams presented proposals based on their own operations, covering cost competitiveness, integrated logistics and energy efficiency, robust supplier processes, traceability coverage and AI-enabled error-proofing, export quality, and readiness at critical workstations.

Plant Manager Summit Click to Enlarge
Plant Manager Summit Click to Enlarge
Plant Manager Summit Click to Enlarge

This year’s summit also introduced a new tool - the Bus Tour. In previous years, participants took part in Gemba observation exercises, visiting production lines to observe operations and identify opportunities for improvement.

For the Bus Tour, participants used detailed Lean Maturity Model (LMM) checklists to assess and score FPS practices on site across the stamping, body, battery, final assembly and paint shops. They then presented and reviewed their findings.

Serving as a rehearsal for the Ford Global Manufacturing China Bus Tour, the Hangzhou event gave participants a cross-plant, cross-functional perspective on practices and results in safety, cost reduction, efficiency and employee innovation.

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    2026 Ford LMM CAF Hangzhou Bus Tour
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In mid-November, another Bus Tour led by Ford global manufacturing experts will further connect China’s operations with Ford’s global manufacturing system.

During the subsequent productivity improvement competition, plants shared examples of cost reduction, production bottleneck elimination, equipment layout optimization and innovative ergonomic improvements. The body-in-white line at the Chongqing Vehicle Plant won first place.

Winners in the Productivity Improvement Best Practice Sharing Click to Enlarge
Winners in the Productivity Improvement Best Practice Sharing Click to Enlarge
Winners in the Productivity Improvement Best Practice Sharing Click to Enlarge

Winners in the Productivity Improvement Best Practice Sharing

“To embrace world-class standards, we must first empty our cups.”

Amid the pressures of transformation, plants are approaching their gaps with an open mind and accelerating the sharing and replication of proven practices and innovative tools. Support functions are also strengthening their service mindset and establishing regular communication mechanisms.

In 2027, Ford China will work to integrate its Strategic Action Plan (SAP), Ford Production System (FPS) and Lean Maturity Model (LMM) so that they operate together effectively.