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FAIM '97 - KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Synopsis
Agility in the Context of
Next Generation Manufacturing
Paul T. Kidd, Ph.D.
Cheshire Henbury
Tamworth House
PO Box 103
Macclesfield, SK11 8UW
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1625 619313
Fax: +44 1625 619060
Email: paulkidd@cheshirehenbury.com
Web site; http://www.cheshirehenbury.com
The Iacocca Institute report
"21st Century Manufacturing Enterprise Strategy" introduced
the term agility in an effort to define a new paradigm which
the authors called agile manufacturing. The Iacocca Institute
report attempted to look beyond current best practice towards
the enterprise of the future. Unfortunately it became apparent
very quickly that the report had failed to make a clear distinction
between the changes taking place in 1991 in manufacturing industries,
and issues relevant to a longer term focus on developing a new
and radically different manufacturing paradigm. The net result
was great confusion, which still continues to this day, with
agility being used as a catch-all-phrase to describe all the
various changes and ideas being promoted such as lean production,
business process re-engineering, time compression and so on.
Recent publications such as
the US Agility Forum's Next Generation Manufacturing Project
reports have attempted to define Next Generation Manufacturing.
These reports, in common with the UK's Technology Foresight report
Manufacturing, Production and Business Processes, aimed to look
forward fifteen to twenty years, examining drivers and future
needs and likely developments. However, both the US and the UK
reports tend to focus on near term issues within the five year
time frame, often describing developments and ideas that companies
are already implementing.
Clearly looking out over a
longer time frame of fifteen to twenty years is a challenging
task. It is however one that is becoming increasingly important.
The presentation will address
the issues of Next Generation Manufacturing, and within this
context, provide a definition of agility that is focused and
relevant to future industrial problems - that is, those that
industry has yet to fully understand and address.
The presentation will deal
with and expand upon issues that were researched for the Financial
Times in London. This research was undertaken in the second half
of 1996 and published by Financial Times Automotive Publishing
as detailed management report in early 1997. This unique report
deals with the creation of a globally distributed new product
development capability focused on developing global products
tailored to diverse local markets. The report also deals with
longer term issues - the Next Generation Automotive Enterprise
- examining concepts such as mass customization of total solutions
and agile new product development practices.
The presentation will therefore:
- describe the strategic drivers
for Next Generation Manufacturing;
- discuss the Next Generation
Automotive Enterprise;
- define agility as a component
part of the Next Generation Manufacturing Enterprise;
- illustrate the concept of
agility with reference to future requirements and capabilities
within the new product development process.
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