Since Karl Benz introduced the first automobile in 1886 and Henry Ford brought the world mass production in 1914, manufacturers have constantly worked to improve upon motor vehicles and the processes they use to build them.
Safety concerns, environmental issues and consumer demands for speed and comfort have driven advancements ranging from anti-lock brakes and air bags to automatic transmissions and lumbar supports. Volume, speed and cost demands have also forced manufacturers to think outside the box about the production process. Today robotics, lean manufacturing and cellular assembly systems are all employed to streamline and speed up operations on the plant floor. But while the technology has changed over time, one thing has remained constant: the goal of efficient and cost-effective manufacturing.
Smart parts
The key elements of today’s automotive industry involve so much more than just nuts and bolts. Electronics are now being heavily integrated with the parts that make up a vehicle’s engine, transmission, chassis and brake systems – in turn creating a more complex component. Sensors and other electronic parts, for example, must be embedded into mundane components like head gaskets and axles so that data on wheel load, torque levels and thermal conditions can be fed back to the vehicle to improve safety and drivability.
Innovations rely upon the many ways that high-tech capabilities can be integrated with the traditional parts and manufacturing processes. It is crucial to not only improve the automotive components and systems but also to streamline the steps involved in building them.
Smart questions
Changing the mindset of manufacturing from a focus on the physical product to a broader view of the entire automotive system has been essential to take advantage of opportunities for innovation.
Today’s automotive leaders know that it is not enough just to understand how to forge, fabricate or assemble a part to meet customer specifications: workforces must be trained to thoroughly comprehend the operating value and characteristics of every single part. Employees need to constantly ask themselves which operating parameters of each part can improve the overall operation of the vehicles they support. Only then can a company team with a customer to introduce enhancements.
It is this kind of thinking that is allowing visionary manufacturers to keep pace with the evolving needs of OEMs, consumers and the industry as a whole.
Smart people
But how can today’s manufacturer ensure that its workforce maintains the broad view needed for innovation? First, management must buy in to the key elements of innovation by maintaining collaborative dialogue with customers, suppliers and partners. Organisations should share business information with the entire workforce, encourage employees to submit new ideas and reward them for taking calculated risks.
Secondly, automotive manufacturers must ensure that they are attracting the best and brightest people into their workforces. Many companies are still struggling with filling the gaps created when a flood of experienced automotive professionals left the industry during the struggling economies of 2007 through to 2009. Conveniently, however, industry leaders have been able to rely on the very technology they have used to improve their manufacturing processes in order to attract and maintain staff with the exact experience they need.
The recruitment process is especially easy for those companies that make use of the latest enterprise resource technology (ERP) solutions. When today’s 20-somethings see that the technology they are able to use in manufacturing jobs is elegant and intuitive – nothing like the now basic green screen systems previous generations had to work with – they are right at home. Raised on tablets, smartphones and social media, the incoming workforce already knows how technology can allow them to access and use real-time information in their personal lives. And now, more than a century after the assembly line began its run, the evolving workforce is ready to use the tools of its generation to drive innovation into the industry’s next century.
John Flavin is Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing at Infor
