For Ford Motor Co., a long-standing symbol of American manufacturing prowess, the past decade's descent into billion-dollar losses — $8.67 billion in the most recent quarter — has looked like a terminal spiral to some outsiders.
From inside the storied gates, however, each day presents the same challenges that issued during more auspicious times: Make better vehicles and try to spend less money doing so.
Only today the dynamics are much different. As assembly plants and other production facilities work to pass the Ford name on to future generations, each now casts a wary eye on its fellow plants — comrades in arms, but also competitors. Witness this past summer, when Ford cut back on production of F150 pickup trucks to placate a truck-averse consumer. When production must slim down, redundancy becomes the kiss of death, so each of the various plants involved in F150 production — and every worker therein — felt the noose tighten. Workers sought every efficiency possible, every nip and tuck that might make theirs the most attractive facility and ensure its survival.
Of course, in such a climate, "attractive" means cost-effective, and with energy prices buckling the knees of industry worldwide, some of Ford's plant and energy managers made a beeline to that cost center, hoping improvements would bolster their cause.
Driving a New Agenda
It is against this backdrop that Bill Allemon spends his days steering the energy efficiency efforts of Ford Land, the subsidiary Ford created in 1971 to manage its North American facilities, from corporate towers to factory floors.
It wasn't always like this, of course. In the late 1980s, during the heady days of brisk sales and oversized profits, Ford had other things on its mind. "Like most companies, there was not an efficiency focus, just because energy was so cheap and we were selling a lot of cars and trucks," Allemon says.
When priorities changed in the 1990s, the company created an Energy Efficiency unit within Ford Land and challenged its members to shrink the company's energy footprint.
In conversation, Allemon comes across as somewhat world-weary, perhaps a bit deflated by the straits he and his employer find themselves in. But he also seems determined to improve the piece of the pie that he can control.
His task: Drive a technology and business intelligence initiative that results in 3% yearly improvements in Ford's North American energy efficiency. The automaker measures that efficiency on a BTU-per-vehicle-produced basis, normalized for seasonal variations and plant shutdowns, and pegs its performance to the baseline year 2000.