Automation, motivation and lean production reconsidered

Abstract

Purpose

Aims to present an alternative way of interpreting unfolding events as these pertain to the organisation of manufacturing practices in the assembly plants of the leading Japanese car assembler, Toyota.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an analysis of assembly plant automation in the automotive industry.

Findings

Fifteen years ago, it was argued that the lean car assembly plants of the future would be comprehensively automated, but that in the meantime organization rather than automation was the watch‐word for efficient plants. Today it is possible to invert this prognosis as it applies to the leading “lean” car assembler, Toyota. Automation certainly played a much larger role in accounting for high labour productivity in the late 1980s than has generally been understood; but in the subsequent years priority has been given to managing the manual component in car assembly, and aggressive automation as a preferred strategy has been put on ice.

Originality/value

The findings raise new questions about future trends in the world automotive industry.

Citation

Coffey, D. and Thornley, C. (2006), "Automation, motivation and lean production reconsidered", Assembly Automation, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 98-103. https://doi.org/10.1108/01445150610658068