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Rapid Recovery of a Failing EV Assembly Line

Case Study

Automotive

Services Used
  • Rapid Operational Turnarounds
  • Operational Excellence
  • Targeted Performance Improvement Initiatives
  • Rapid Diagnosis – Causal Explanation
  • Quality Improvement

Background:

A Tier 1 EV supplier faced severe quality breakdowns on a high-visibility EV program. The Not Right First Time (NRFT) rate exceeded 50%, triggering excessive scrap, rework, and OEM line stoppages. Despite six months of external support and more than 100 changes across 60 stations, no measurable improvement occurred. Crossover was brought in to uncover the root cause, stabilize performance, and restore delivery integrity.

 

Critical Issues:

  • NRFT above 50%, compromising quality, throughput, and delivery
  • Excessive scrap and rework costs eroding profitability ​​
  • Repeated OEM line stoppages driven by incoming quality failures
  • Over 100 changes implemented without impact, introducing system instability
  • No causal clarity despite structured problem-solving efforts

Approach:

Crossover replaced assumption-driven changes with a precision strategy grounded in XO Dynamic Learning™. We rapidly identified high-impact failure mechanisms and deployed convergent diagnostics at critical stations. Within days, we defined causal explanations, implemented corrective actions, and stabilized the process — delivering sustained results within weeks.

Key Actions:
  • Conducted Pareto analysis to isolate top NRFT contributors
  • Deployed convergent diagnostics at the five most critical stations
  • Implemented corrective actions and restored performance within one week
  • Extended characterization across remaining stations for system-level control
  • Reversed non-value-added changes and enforced structured execution cadence
  • Shifted from fragmented fixes to integrated stability and traceability

Results:

  • Diagnosed and corrected failure mechanisms in under one week​​
  • NRFT at the most critical station dropped from 26% to 2%
  • Overall NRFT reduced from >50% to <10% within weeks
  • Eliminated recurring disruptions; throughput fully stabilized
  • First Time Capable rate exceeded 97% and remained sustained

By the Numbers

1 Week
To diagnose and correct the Top 5 stations
24%
Reduction in NRFT rate on the most critical station from 26% to 2% in less than one week
40%+
NRFT dropped for overall line from over 50% to below 10% within weeks
>3%
Final sustained NRFT performance improved
100+
Ineffective changes reversed or replaced with targeted, causal explanation-driven solutions