Caterpillar 2010 Annual Report Download - page 10

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THINK LIKE YOUR CUSTOMER
For Garney Construction, a large underground and wastewater utility
contractor, quality is essential.
When a machine breaks, Garney crews do not work. Their downtime can cost between $6,000 and $10,000 per day,
depending on the size of the crew. These costs add up fast and profitability can suffer quickly.
Several years ago, Garney faced reliability and availability issues with Cat® excavators that caused this scenario to occur
more than once. As Garney began to question its longtime loyalty to Cat equipment, Caterpillar District Manager Paul Clark
grew concerned and instinctively followed the first rule of customer service: he listened. As Garney’s Steve McCandless
voiced his concerns, Clark realized quickly that other team members needed to hear from McCandless directly. Soon,
McCandless was at Caterpillar’s Aurora plant speaking one-on-one with engineers and production employees.
“Steve pointed out some issues that only someone who operates a machine day
in and day out on different job sites could detect,” explains account manager
Adam Zimmermann. “His comments enabled us to identify improvements quickly
and precisely; nothing can match the value of insights from a customer who uses
our equipment constantly in the field.”
After meeting with Garney, the team went to work,
making standardized changes in both design and
production that would benefit not only Garney, but
other customers as well. Parts that experienced
significant wear in the field, for example, changed
from a bolted to a welded production process.
Today, Garney is a more satisfied customer and
Aurora is a more empowered team.
“Bringing the customer into our everyday work changed our perspective,” adds
Zimmermann. “When you can see firsthand how the quality of a machine improves
jobsite efficiency, it’s powerful and makes us more committed to continuous
improvement than ever.”
Think Quality
We expect a lot from Caterpillar. We expect
world-class products with great reliability,
long life, great parts availability, great field
service and great value.”
Steve McCandless, Senior Vice President
Garney Construction
“
Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug
Oberhelman and Garney Senior Vice
President Steve McCandless discuss
expectations for customer focus.
Strategic Thinking
Taking the customer’s view
is a Guiding Principle of
the Caterpillar Production
System (CPS), which, in turn,
is a Caterpillar operating
principle that helps us to
achieve consistency in the
areas of People, Quality,
Velocity and Cost.
2010 YEAR IN REVIEW