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Why America’s Largest Tool Company Couldn’t Make a Wrench in America (www.wsj.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

16 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/677480

Archived version: https://archive.ph/RQev4
Archived version: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/aUlm5

top 15 comments

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[–] fubo 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Because they're not as good as the Milwaukee folks, who do?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The problem was they wanted to make them without any folks.

[–] fubo 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, that doesn't work.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But they will keep trying.

[–] fubo 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Eventually the MBAs will rediscover Gall's Law:

A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

If they could learn they wouldn't be MBAs

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

"couldn't"

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Paywall. tldr?

Guessing… corporate incompetence and scaling problems and logistics and “muh supply chain” nonsense.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

They bought into marketing hype from a machine supplier. Then didn't properly test the machines before bringing their process up to scale. The machines couldn't produce quality tools at the expected rate. They could have fixed the process by slowing it down, but that would have made the plant unprofitable. So they closed it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Issues with the automation systems they tries implementing.

[–] SheeEttin 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah. A machine doesn't have the flexibility and resiliency of a human. When a machine has a problem, it turns out defective products or nothing at all. A human can quickly identify and resolve a problem.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Sounds like the story of how Tesla almost died. Basically they were determined to implement maximum tech and automation, but it actually caused serious problems and bottlenecks with mass production. It was solved by ditching some systems and adding more humans.

I'm pretty sure this info came from M***, though. Taking credit for the epiphany, as the savior with the genius idea before the company was bankrupted.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The archive link gets around the paywall. The tldr as I understood it is that they gave up bringing it back to America after only a few years of trying through COVID. They never planned past the next quarter.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

No planning past the next shareholder meeting?? I'm shocked. /s

[–] s6original 6 points 11 months ago

It's probably the tools at the top. They call the shots.

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