Title: The survival of US manufacturing – the ultimate management decision

Authors: Gerald S. Cole

Addresses: Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan 48121, USA

Abstract: Profitable manufacturing operations require cutting costs, reducing waste, increasing productivity and improving product quality. Several techniques to achieve increased manufacturing efficiency are examined here, including adopting ||just-in-time|| production, statistical process control, robotics and flexible manufacturing procedures. Increased research and development for new materials, products and processes, and using computers in design, engineering and manufacturing are essential to achieve the goal of coping with increasingly aggressive foreign competition. The goal of this presentation is to show that when management effectively coordinates the existing know-how and innovation of its workforce, and applies science and engineering in an appropriate manner, its company will be highly profitable and competitive.

Keywords: manufacturing management; Japan; competition; technological change; USA; United States; just-in-time; JIT production; statistical process control; SPC; robotics; flexible manufacturing; innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1987.026129

International Journal of Technology Management, 1987 Vol.2 No.1, pp.75 - 87

Published online: 27 May 2009 *

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