Faces of Ford: Yandiswa Mdlalose

Coach, change agent, chef, chairperson, supervisor, wife, mother, award-winner, ambassador and lover of the Ford brand.

Yandiswa Mdlalose is all of those.

Currently, she’s a production process coach with a team of 75 people manufacturing the instrumental panel for the next-gen Ranger dashboard. It’s a job she loves.

“My role as a process coach includes coaching and enabling, being a cultural change agent, driving continuous improvement and increasing the leadership role of people,” Yandiswa said. “I ensure safety, quality, and productivity objectives are met through coaching standardized work, verifying that the line is running safely, smoothly and producing quality parts. I love my job.”

Outside of the manufacturing environment, Yandiswa enjoys the outdoor life of camping, hiking and cooking (she’s the family chef). An avid traveler, Yandiswa has been to all the provinces in S. Africa, but her favorite was the Mpumalanga (Panorama Route).

“In that province God was just showing off – the landscape and the scenery were just out of this world,” she said. “My healing and health were restored in that province.”

Socializing and networking also are a big part of her life as she represents Ford on a number of committees and boards, including:

• Representing women of Ford South Africa as a board partner in the Global Women of Ford.
• Being voted in as Women of Ford South Africa Chairperson in 2021
• Receiving the 2018 Global Diversity & Inclusion Award in the area of fostering inclusive actions
• Winning the 2021 Nedbank Motoring Woman of the Year Award
• Serving as board committee member at the Nelson Mandela Science?Technology Centre

“All the above have proven that Ford trusts and believes in me, and it humbles me more when people come to me with their personal issues, and I advise and assist whenever I can,” she said. “I love the Ford brand, I am a very proud Ford advocate, and I strive to model the Ford behaviours.”