For leading the car-makers of the world the early 1990s brought significant changes, both in effectivity and profits. Formerly leading companies had to face consequences no one had expected. What are the results of the revolution in work organization and assembly automation? Scientists involved in those reports published in the early 1990s now gathered to evaluate the changes in worlds car-making industries. In this publication the reader will learn about todays concepts in automation and organization of produktion, in Japan, America and Europe. Five years later - how did the car-makers deal with the situation?
Five years after the publication of MITs lean production book practitioners and academics from Japan, USA and Europe present new concepts, findings and conclusions in regard to one of the most critical areas of automobile production. The focus of the book is to explore automation and work organization for the final assembly operations in the world automobile industry. The authors are company practitioners in charge of planning assembly operations and academic researchers drawing from recent empirical work. Thus, the book presents a multi-facetted view on a development of critical importance for future development of the industry. The book is rich with figures, fotos, tables, thus making the text vivid, easy to understand and illustrative.
Five years after the MIT-Report on the situation in worlds automotive industries the results of the changes in work organization and automation are reviewed and evaluated. Experts from Japan, Europe and US America join their skills in this publication. The reader will get an inside-view into all leading car-making companies.
Koichi Shimokawa
Fertigungstechnik Kaizen Production systems Produktionssysteme Teamwork automation manufacturing technology organizations work organization