I don’t know what it’s like at Ford or really at any manufacturer these days since I am retired. But my first job out of college was with the world’s largest manufacturer of electronic connectors and associated crimping and application machinery. I worked in Engineering Systems as a white collar employee in IT. I loved going out on factory floors and working, so did the engineers because they designed everything on the floor. We had good relationships with factory workers because our job was to make them more productive. We did their jobs so we knew exactly what they did for a living and they were pretty open about how they really did their jobs (not by the manual) and had ideas how things could be improved. But then it wasn’t a unionized shop.
Good story. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, “back in the day” engineers and technicians talked with each other and THE ENGINEERS KNEW THE TECHNICIANS’ JOBS so they designed with serviceability in mind.
When that broke down we moved from a “repair” mode to a “replacment” mode.
I worked in a unionized shop and as soon as I was able they put me on a fork lift so I could come in on weekends and unload the barrels from the belts. I guess I was trained a little but the lift was actually easy to drive. Nevertheless, one of the summer hires did drive through a door with the load elevated and took out the top section of the building. No one was hurt, the lift had a screen that saved the driver from the falling debris. We also never heard of anyone having trouble getting insurance to pay to fix the wall.
I also worked as an engineer in a unionized shop where the workers went out on strike. We engineers took over and did what we knew how to do. (Not as good or as safe I suppose) but people seemed to understand that things are not all perfect when people go on strike.