THE STRUGGLE BACK December 1986 Harley-Davidson asked Congress to remove the tariff barriers, more than a year earlier than originally planned. The confidence of the company had been restored, and it believed it could now compete with the Japanese head to head. Production Improvements Shortly after the buyout, Beals and other nmanagers visited Japanese plants both in Japan and Honda's assembly plant in Marysville, Ohio. They were impressed that they were being beaten not by "robotics, or culture. or morning calisthenics and company songs, [but byl professional managers who understood their business and paid attention to det As a result, Japanese production costs were as much as percent lower than Harley's Beals and his managers tried to implement some of the Japanese management techniques. Each plant was divided into profit centers, with managers assigned total responsibility within their particular area. Just-in-time (IT) inventory and a materials-as-needed (MAN) system sought to control and minimize all inventories both inside and outside the plants. Quality circles (QCs) were formed to increase mployee involvement in quality goals and to improve communication between man- agement and workers. See the following Information Box for further discussion of quality circles. Another new program called statistical operator control employees the responsibility for checking the quality of their own work and making corrective adjustments. Efforts were made to improve labor relations by more proper sensitivity to employees and their problems as well as better employee assistance and benefits. Certain product improvements were also introduced, notably engine and mountings on rubber to reduce vibration. A well-accepted quipment innovation was to build stereo systems and intercoms into the motorcycle helmets changes 19s) resulted