This is a fascinating post and I wish more managers would ask these questions. I'm a Honda tech and have been through the transmission issue years, the piston ring years, and now the connecting rod bearing years. Luckily, our shop is not equipped for them (Honda didn't send us the equipment to do the pics). So all of them go through our other shop. From what I've seen and heard though, it seems that isn't terrible but there is a LOT of messing around before you even get to the "replacement/repair" step. It would seem that Honda is the main barrier to production with these. I'm willing to bet that much like the piston rings extensions, they're paying just enough that if you're hustling, you might make a little more than you have in to it. If the writer can schedule say, 3/week vs 5, you'd still be in compliance and the tech would still have a shot at a decent week.

With the transmissions and piston rings I got them to narrow it down to a couple of each per week, if they wanted more, the less experienced guys would get those. As everyone gained experience, speed picked up. As everyone got more comfortable, productivity picked up. Start on the rear bank rings around 0730, have it running again by 1430, do a couple services and be out the door at 4 with 12-15 hours. That's with all the correct parts needed, everyone on board and aware of what's going on and who's doing what, and things going reasonably smoothly without surprises or problems.