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Michelin · May 2021 — Sep 2022
Starcross 6 — New Tire Line Launch
Introduced a brand-new off-road motorcycle tire line into production, coordinating new compounds across quality and operations.
Product Launch
Quality
Cross-functional
- New product line
- Starcross 6
- Scope
- New compounds
- Defect rate
- < 2%
01
Problem
- Michelin needed to bring a new off-road motorcycle tire line (Starcross 6) into production, built on entirely new rubber compounds.
- New compounds mean new failure modes: quality standards, verification plans and operator know-how all had to be defined before ramp-up.
02
Research & Discovery
- Reviewed central and local quality referentials to understand which obtention standards applied to the new compounds.
- Analyzed early production samples (before and after curing) to identify the most likely defect categories.
- Worked with operators and process experts to surface where the new line differed from existing products.
03
Solution
- Established obtention standards, verification plans and local process parameters specific to the new compounds.
- Set up quality controls and corrective-action playbooks so deviations could be caught and resolved early.
- Mentored operators on the new manufacturing standards and the correct reaction when a deviation appears.
04
Impact & Metrics
- The line reached stable production with quality standards defined and verified from day one.
- Maintained a defect rate under 2% through ramp-up and steady-state production — validating that the new compound standards and verification plans held under real volume.
05
Trade-offs
Every project involves choices. Here I explain what I didn't do, what I chose instead, and why that was the better call for the business.
- Prioritized getting verification plans right over maximizing early throughput — a slower ramp in exchange for fewer escaped defects.
- Chose to standardize and document operator procedures rather than rely on tribal knowledge, accepting more up-front effort for long-term consistency.
06
What I Learned
- Quality is a product decision: the standards you define up front determine what customers experience later.
- Clear, written standards beat heroics — they scale across shifts and people in a way verbal instructions never do.