• Industries
    • Major Capital Projects
    • Construction and Infrastructure
    • Manufacturing
  • Services
    • Transformation Consultants
    • High Integrity Turnarounds™
    • Safety Consultants
    • Leadership and Organizational Performance
    • High Performance Projects™
    • The School of Coaching
  • Impact
    • What Clients Say
    • Client Results
  • Insights
    • Articles, Blogs & Poetry
    • Press Releases
    • Events
    • Transformation Talks Podcast
    • News
  • People
    • Senior Partners
    • Partners
    • Managing Consultants
    • Board of Directors
    • Founders
  • About Us
    • Our History
    • Our Vision
    • Our Perspective
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Let's Talk

GM ignition switch crisis created culture shift to spot safety defects

Published by Chloe Handley at September 6, 2019
JMJ Associates Logo
Latest News
  • From the Web

GM ignition switch crisis created culture shift to spot safety defects

Latest Blogs

Sep 6, 2019


Almost one year ago this month, a federal judge in New York dismissed criminal charges against General Motors. The charges were concerning GM's defective ignition switches, a safety leadership crisis that led to one of the most dangerous vehicle defects and biggest recalls in U.S. history. As part of that dismissal, GM paid a $900 million penalty and consented to federal monitoring to suggest ways to develop safety training in their organization.

GM says it embraced many of the proposals, which have not been made publicly known, but company representative Dan Flores said most of the reforms the carmaker executed came before the monitor’s September 2015 installation.

GM leaders maintain the "don't tell" safety culture (or lack thereof) that led to the ignition switch disaster is in the rear-view mirror. Now, safety leaders actively encourage all employees, merchants, and suppliers to report immediately whenever they see a possible safety problem.

"Openness and accountability are two things that are very different at GM now," Maryann Combs, GM's vice president of global vehicle safety, told the Free Press. "Everyone is encouraged to speak up on safety issues. They’ll be followed up on and we’ll take action."

The amount of recalls GM has announced in modern years has regularly decreased, but some safety leadership experts warn that given the complicated circumstances that prompt automobile recalls, it is still too soon to conclusively say GM's vehicles are truly safer.

GM's Combs recognizes that the organization at times will have recalls involving a notable volume of vehicles. But GM is striving to catch defects quicker than it has done previously.

Cultural changes

GM's 2014 ignition switch crisis produced a recall of nearly 30 million small cars globally and is attributed to at least 124 deaths and 275 injuries. That significance is why GM leaders want to keep it on employees' minds so that the failure in safety leadership will not recur again. "Every day we make our safety processes better, but we don’t want people to ever forget (the ignition switch crisis), and if you’re new, you learn about it," Combs said of the scandal.

GM has made a set of reforms since the 2014 ignition switch recall.

First, it designed the Vice President of Global Vehicle Safety position, now maintained by Combs, to communicate to top GM safety leadership.

The role centers on recalls and safety training before, during and after the car is engineered, manufactured and marketed. Combs said her job is to interact with GM leadership daily to guarantee that top brass, including the board of directors, won't be blindsided by a significant mistake again and that they are accountable for vehicle quality.

GM also made these adjustments:

  • Created a safety leadership investigation team and a new, more extensive assistance organization to process and recognize safety problems and fix them quickly.
  • Started the Speak Up For Safety program to inspire all employees, dealers, and suppliers to suggest safety culture concerns the field investigation team.
  • Added a systems engineering team to supervise how each component impacts the entire vehicle.
  • Executed new-employee familiarization and annual safety training on developing a safety culture in the best interest of everyone.

Read the source article at freep.com



A year ago this month, a federal judge in New York dismissed criminal charges against General Motors. The charges were in connection to GM's faulty ignition switches, a crisis that led to one of the deadliest vehicle defects and biggest recalls in U.S. history. As part of that dismissal, GM paid a $900 million fine and agreed to federal monitoring to recommend ways to improve safety.

GM says it adopted many of the recommendations, which are not public, but company spokesman Dan Flores said most of the changes the carmaker made came before the monitor’s September 2015 appointment.

Read the source article at freep.com


View All Client Results

Capital Projects Client Results
DSME Completes TCO FGP WPMP Fabrication Safely and ahead of Schedule for the Tengizchevroil Expansion Project
DSME Completes
Client Results Manufacturing
Global Manufacturing Corporation Reduces Quality Defects and Improves Bottom-Line Performance
One of the worl
DSHI Fabrication Yards in Korea Builds Strong Safety Culture on TCO FGP Major Capital Project
Client Results Safety
DSHI Fabrication Yards in Korea Builds Strong Safety Culture on TCO FGP Major Capital Project
At Korean fabri
Japanese Engineering & Construction Corporat Achieves Breakthrough Improvement in Safety Performance
Client Results Safety
Japanese Engineering & Construction Corporation Achieves Breakthrough Improvement in Safety Performance
The JGC Corpora
Russian Petroleum Operations Company Achieves a Shift in its Health and Safety Culture
Client Results Safety
Russian Petroleum Operations Company Achieves a Shift in its Health and Safety Culture in 9 Months
SPD had been wo



From the Web

Your Coronavirus Questions, Answered by Experts
Coronavirus From the web
Your Coronavirus Questions, Answered by Experts.
With the coronavirus sending us all indo
coronavirus
From the web
Working from home because of coronavirus? Be careful what you download to keep cybersafe
Welcome to the new normal: working from
Increase engagement through communication
From the web
Increase engagement through communication
Safety training sessions and conducting
Almost one year ago this month, a federal judge in New York dismissed criminal charges against General Motors. The charges were concerning GM’s defective ignition switches, a safety leadership crisis that led to one of the most dangerous vehicle defects and biggest recalls in U.S. history. As part of that dismissal, GM paid a $900 million penalty and consented to federal monitoring to suggest ways to develop safety training in their organization.

  • Author
Chloe Handley
Chloe Handley Administrator
Chloe Handley has progressed to Global Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist since joining JMJ in 2011. Chloé’s experience spans both agency and in-house; working with brands such as Sodexo, Rics, Neopost, Harley Medical Group, Lancashire Constabulary, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Coca-Cola. Her experience spans lead generation through digital design and marketing, brand narrative and consistent business and client-focused targeted marketing communications. Chloé’s responsible for managing brand development and marketing and communication strategies across JMJ, helping to drive growth and maintain JMJ’s market lead position. She works with internal teams to develop tailored marketing plans across a range of communications channels – in line with JMJ’s business development objectives.
follow me
JMJ
  • Corporate Headquarters
    Arboretum Plaza One
    9442 N. Capital of Texas Highway, Suite 450,
    Austin, Texas 78759
  • +1 (512) 795-0795
  • Email Us

Industries

  • Rail
  • Construction
  • Manufacturing
  • Energy
  • Mining
  • Logistics
  • Aerospace
  • Water and Environmental

Services

  • Incident and Injury-Free™
  • High Performance Projects™
  • Safety Consultants
  • Leadership and Organizational Performance
  • High Integrity Turnarounds™
  • The School of Coaching

Locations

  • Americas Office – Austin
  • APAC Office – Singapore
  • EMEA Office – London
  • Middle East Office – Doha
  • Kazakhstan Office – Atyrau
  • South Korea Office – Seoul
  • Australia Office – Perth

Connect

  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
Privacy | Terms of Use | Trademarks | Accessibility | Cookie Policy | Feedback | Site Map |

© 2020 JMJ Associates LLP. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of JMJ Associates content or logo, including by framing or similar means, is prohibited without the prior written consent of JMJ Associates.

    Start Unlocking Human Performance


    Arrange a call with one of our consultants today. Please complete your details below:

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    This site uses cookies to provide you with a more personalised service. By using this site you agree to our use of cookies. Please read our cookie policy for more information on the cookies we use and how to delete or block them.Accept Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled

    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

    Non-necessary

    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.