Dan Jonsson

Production model discourse and experiences from the Swedish automotive industry

Discusses production models for final assembly in the automotive industry and also reports on the performance of one final assembly plant representing an innovative production model, namely the Volvo Uddevalla plant. Briefly considers some issues and pitfalls in current production model discourse, and in this connection introduces a distinction between two manufacturing models and broader industrial models. Describes two manufacturing models for final assembly work as namely the “serial flow model” and the “parallel flow model”. Discusses the Japanese “lean production”, sometimes synonymous with “Toyotism”, as an industrial model and the impact of socio‐economic and socio‐cultural contexts on manufacturing models and industrial models. Concludes that the Uddevalla plant highlights the paradox that long cycle time work in parallel flow assembly systems is in fact more efficient than short cycle time work in serial flow systems, provided that suitable technical and administrative preconditions exist. Therefore, the engineering point of view and the Swedish experiences of innovative manufacturing systems should be carefully considered in the current production model discourse.

Reflective Production in the Final Assembly of Motor Vehicles – An Emerging Swedish Challenge

Presents some theoretical principles and empirical evidence relating to the new Swedish production systems for final assembly of motor vehicles. Contends that in these production systems it is possible simultaneously to enhance efficiency and quality of working life. Briefly sketches three production forms as they apply to the final assembly of automobiles and discusses the societal environments in which these different forms of production have evolved. Focuses on Volvo′s Swedish Uddevalla plant as one of the main examples so far of a reflective production system for final assembly of automobiles. Amplifies the analysis of different production flow patterns for final assembly and in particular addresses the issue of semi‐parallel mechanistic production flow and parallel organic production flow as alternatives to serial flow on a conventional line assembly.

Some Considerations Relating to the Reintroduction of Assembly Lines in Swedish Automotive Industry

In recent years, assembly lines have been reintroduced in the Swedish automotive industry and, in many cases, have replaced those so‐called alternative assembly systems which had their roots in the 1970s. This paper reviews and evaluates some explicit reasons given for the return to the assembly line. It also considers whether the decisions to replace alternative assembly systems with assembly lines may have been driven by other factors and mechanisms than those implicit in these arguments and, if so, what other factors could explain their reintroduction. There is also a discussion of which dimensions that should be taken into account when choosing between alternative assembly systems and assembly lines and empirical data are used to shed more light on the issues discussed in the article. The authors report one study that compares automobile assembly in an alternative assembly system with assembly of the same products after introducing an assembly line. They also briefly discuss reasons for and experiences from the recent introduction of alternative assembly systems in the Japanese electronics industry. In this case, so‐called cellular assembly systems have replaced assembly lines.

Empirical evaluation of the reformed assembly work at the Volvo Uddevalla plant: Psychosocial effects and performance aspects

Abstract This paper reports on the innovative, now defunct, Volvo Uddevalla final assembly plant. Theoretical frames of reference, the design process and empirical data on work group characteristics and working conditions are focused upon. Information regarding the Uddevalla plant has been gathered during a long-term co-operation project with the Volvo Corporation. During the closing-down period we obtained full access to all the production engineering data and personnel files available. We also had the opportunity of studying the responses to a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of blue-collar workers. Working conditions in Uddevalla in the form of psychosocial job factors are compared with industrial blue-collar workers in general as well as with assembly workers in the closed down Volvo Kalmar final assembly plant, which had a different, more traditional, production system. The paper also compares the psychosocial job factors, performance measures and work-group characteristics in the five assembly workshops in the Uddevalla plant. In comparing assembly workshops, the paper contrasts two approaches to competence development and work structuring used in Uddevalla, namely (1) giving priority to individual in-depth training of a specific task or (2) giving priority to a large competence overlap between individuals in a work group. Relevance to industry This paper reports and explains some results from a multidisciplinary evaluation of shop-floor work in the Volvo Uddevalla plant, a full-scale assembly plant with parallellized flow and long cycle time, using autonomous work groups. These experiences should be of general interest to industries searching for the factory of the future.

The Volvo Uddevalla Plant and Interpretations of Industrial Design Processes

Argues that the design of the Volvo Uddevalla plant may be described as a process with an “internal logic” in which design options were eliminated through irreversible design decisions until only one alternative remained ‐ an unorthodox alternative comprising, for example, long cycle time work never used before for full‐scale production of automobiles. Contends that the most innovative features of the Uddevalla plant ‐ i.e. the detailed layout in the assembly workshops and the corresponding unorthodox production principles used ‐ were in many respects an unanticipated outcome of the design process. Pre‐existing gross layout of the plant as well as the interaction between the materials feeding techniques adopted and the operation of the automated guided vehicle system. When this was perceived by the Volvo managers, the design process had passed the point of no return, i.e. the investments made and lack of time prevented regression to more traditional layouts and production principles.

Inter-relations between product variant codifications and assembly work for flexible manufacturing in autonomous groups

This paper reports on the inter-relations between product variant codification used for specifying product variants and assembly work on the shop floor within a Swedish automobile corporation. The authors give an overview of a general codification scheme as well as product variants and also show how product variants are described from an assembly point of view in two final assembly plants. One plant has an old traditional short cycle-time assembly line, while the other new plant has a long cycle-time, parallelized flow and small work groups. Finally, the authors analyse how the product variants influence the assembly work. To conclude, a reformation of the product variant description is performed, which implies a far less complex product from an assembly point of view than implied by the traditional description methods.

Semantic modeling through identification and characterization of objects

So-called semantic data models represent the structure of some part of reality, on the one hand, and the structure of the data in some database system, on the other hand. Semantic modeling is an important tool for database design. Several techniques and tools for semantic modeling have been proposed [2, 4]. A new approach to semantic modeling — the ICAROS approach — will be presented here.

The Method of Successive Assembly System Design: Six cases studies within the Swedish automotive industry

This chapter presents and illustrates a design procedure applied at several Swedish assembly plants during the last 15 years. This procedure has been used for the design of the Volvo Uddevalla plant in 1984–93, the Volvo Truck plant in Tuve in 1988– 90, the redesign of the Volvo main plant in Torslanda in 1989–90 and the design of the Autonova plant located in Uddevalla in 1996–1997 as well as for the restructuring of the information system at the Scania diesel engine assembly in the main Srdert/ilje plant in 1998–99. The first four cases concern the design, or redesign, into unorthodox parallel product flow, long cycle time assembly systems, while the Scania case deals with improving the shop floor information in a traditional serial flow assembly system (an assembly line)—that is, improvement of work instructions and product variants codification. A more efficient introduction of product design change was an unforeseen consequence of the adoption of parallel product flow, long cycle time assembly systems, which require a restructured information system. The parallel product flow, long cycle time assembly systems, have merits in form of efficient flexible manufacturing compared to traditional assembly systems owing to reduction of losses, increased flexibility and better space utilization than for serial product flow assembly systems.

Developing Unique Production and Work Structuring Principles Trough a Creative Search and Learning Process: The Uddevalla Final Assembly Plant

The discussion and analysis of the assembly line, as practised in the automotive industry, tends to be dominated either by researchers from a “human-centred” orientation or by writers who have adopted a point of view inspired by economic models, organisation theory and management literature. In our view, this has led to a bias in defining problems and their considering solutions.

The Perspective of the Social Sciences

A distinction between two types of concepts, N-concepts and S-concepts, is presented. It is claimed that there is a fundamental difference between these two types of concepts and that S-concepts are used only in the social sciences, not in the natural sciences; hence there is a fundamental difference between social and natural science. Also, several different kinds of S-concepts primary and derived, intra-cranial and extra-cranial, descriptions and evaluations, etc. - are discussed.