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Josh Halliburton joins Ford F 0.36%
Motor Co. in January to help improve its shaky quality record. Within months it was clear how big a challenge he faced.
In May, the auto giant recalled some Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators after reports of fires while the vehicles were parked. In June, it recalled about 49,000 Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs over concerns that battery contactors could overheat and cause the vehicle to lose power. In the first seven months of the year, Ford had 46 separate safety recalls on 6.8 million vehicles, more than any other US automaker.
“That’s not good enough,” said Mr. Halliburton, Ford’s newly hired executive director of quality. “We want to be a good leader.”
An automaker once noted for its quality record—“Quality is Job 1” was its slogan for much of the 1980s and 1990s—is betting that Mr. Halliburton to restore its reputation. The 46-year-old executive comes from auto research firm JD Power, where he advised companies on production quality, and his approach at Ford is to improve how the company identifies problems. He’s installing video cameras to catch flaws while products are being made, adding more social media monitoring to find complaints flagged by customers and forcing workers to raise their hands on in advance about design and production challenges.
The work of the new quality czar is central to the company’s larger ambitions to challenge Tesla Inc.
and other rivals for electric vehicle excellence in the coming years. The billions of dollars Ford spends each year on repairs and warranty recalls make it difficult to meet its goal of shaving $3 billion off annual costs by 2026 and freeing up spending for new models of de- electric vehicle, battery plant and manufacturing plant. Last year, Ford allocated more than $4 billion for warranty costs, up 76% from five years ago. Its total warranty costs increased by approximately 17% from 2016 to 2021.
In June, Ford recalled some Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs. That vehicle was unveiled at a 2020 Toronto auto show.
Image:
Chris Helgren/REUTERS
The problems also raise the stakes for the 119-year-old company as it tries to win over new customers interested in EVs. Chris Spears, a 34-year-old customer service manager for an oil-and-gas company and Mustang Mach-E owner, said his vehicle’s latest recall gave him a second thoughts about the brand after buying Ford vehicles for years.
“Maybe next time we’ll have to look at another manufacturer,” said Mr. Spears, who lives in the Dallas area.
Quality problems have long been a drag on the company’s bottom line. Ford has taken a heavy charge against its profits several times over the past decade to address the issues, and it has contended with erratic new model launches that have led to delays. When Chief Executive Jim Farley took over in October 2020, he made quality a top priority, promised to lower warranty-related costs and restore customers’ trust.
“For these new and desirable vehicles, you don’t want to see problems right out of the gate,” said David Whiston, an analyst for Morningstar. Inc.
“That indicates a problem with either the design, engineering or manufacturing implementation.”
The problems continued in 2021. That year, Ford set aside $1,041 per vehicle to cover warranty claims compared with $713 per vehicle for larger rival General Motors Co., according to an analysis by Warranty Week, a trade newsletter for warranty management professionals. Ford says it can be difficult to compare companies because each reports warranty data differently, but does not dispute the accuracy of the Warranty Week analysis. GM doesn’t dispute the numbers either.
This year, in addition to the recalls, auto-safety regulators also opened a defect investigation into 2021 Ford Broncos after receiving reports of what the auto-safety regulator called “catastrophic engine failures” at highway speeds .
“We continue to be hampered by recalls and customer satisfaction actions,” Mr. Farley said on an earnings call in July. “This affects our cost but more importantly, it falls short of our most fundamental commitment to our customers.”
Taking Mr. Halliburton is part of the latest attempt to find a solution. His arrival comes three months before the creation of an Office of Innovation and Quality that stands independent of operations and is led by Stuart Rowley, who reports to the CEO and is now chief innovation and quality officer. Mr. Halliburton reports to Mr. Rowley and leads 200 people within Ford’s quality organization.
Josh Halliburton, the executive director of quality at Ford.
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Josh Halliburton
An electrical engineer by training, he had long enjoyed tinkering with old cars and motorcycles in his spare time, said former colleague Dave Sargent, who had known him since 2007.
He also worked at Ford previously, from 2000 to 2004, as a launch engineer. After he left the company, he stayed connected. While he worked as a consultant at the research firm JD Power, his job was to help clients improve the quality of their production. He helped improve more than 100 factories around the world, and Ford was among his clients.
“They know what they’re buying before they buy it,” Mr. Sargent said.

Warranty accruals on each vehicle sold

Ford warranty accruals on every vehicle sold

Ford warranty accruals on every vehicle sold
Those who worked with Mr. Halliburton at JD Power, where he rose over 17 years to become vice president of global consulting and head of European operations, as collaborative, decisive and quick-witted. “He’s pretty friendly, especially for a quality engineer,” said Mr. Sargent, a vice president of connected vehicles at JD Power.
One of the challenges he identified at Ford was that it tried to make too many last-minute design and engineering changes before a new vehicle’s launch, increasing the risk of problems down the line. He said workers rallied to fix problems when they erupted, but were not empowered to flag them early in the process when there was still time for them.
“It’s not a top priority,” he said. “Everyone wants to make sure they reach the targets we hope to achieve. If the goal is to launch on time, we often focus on launch versus prioritizing quality.”
It’s important, he said, to reward people who find problems early. “We align specific goals with individuals directly responsible for aspects of quality they control,” he says. “So it makes it clearer how each person fits directly into our quality goals.”
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Jake Fisher, senior director for automotive testing at Consumer Reports, said Ford has a lot of new-model launches lined up and often makes bigger changes with its redesigns, while other companies of the car uses more carry-over parts. Launching a new model is fraught with difficulties for any car company, so the closer the launches are together in timing, the more complicated they become, Mr. Fisher said.
“They made a lot of changes very quickly, and then went a long time without making any changes,” Mr. Fisher said. Mr. Halliburton said the vehicle’s launch strategy was part of the problem but not the whole problem.
Changing how Ford tests its products is another part of his strategy. Ford recently installed video cameras to monitor the early manufacturing of their vehicles—before production—to target any steps they could eliminate or simplify. Higher tech cameras are now being used to inspect vehicles for quality, too, allowing workers to search for a misplaced hose or a paint stain, Mr. Halliburton said.
“We put more time and emphasis on making sure everything is done early to prevent quality issues from showing up later in the development process,” he added.
A line worker assembles a 2021 Ford Bronco at a plant in Wayne, Mich.
Image:
JEFF KOWALSKY/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The quality czar also pays more attention to customers who highlight problems on social media. The company has an “Always On” team that monitors various platforms during the launch of Ford’s Mustang Mach-E and sometimes contacts customers about their complaints. Since then, that group has expanded its analysis to talks about other models, such as the electric F-150 Lightning pickup, the traditional gas-engine F-150 and the Bronco. The team also monitors any trends regarding complications.
The way Ford compares itself to quality rivals has also changed. It now sets its quality targets against its competitors’ benchmarks, he said. An example, he said, is the quality of Ford’s Bronco SUV compared to the Jeep Wrangler.
Mr. Halliburton said he expects Ford’s warranty problems to improve next year, but it may take two to three years to see the most impactful results. By doing so, he hopes to also repair Ford’s reputation among disappointed customers.
“I know it’s an interesting challenge to take on,” he said.
Corrections and Enhancements
Ford recalled about 49,000 Mustang Mach-E electric SUVs in June over concerns that battery contactors could potentially overheat and cause the vehicle to lose power An earlier version of the article it incorrectly stated that the vehicles were recalled due to concerns that the battery could overheat. (Corrected on August 6)
Write to Nora Eckert at nora.eckert@wsj.com
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