Agile Manufacturing

Agile manufacturers emphasize flexibility of

operation and speed to gain a competitive edge. An
example of agile manufacturing can be found in Ford
Motor Company electronic components plant in
Landsdale, Pennsylvania.
The plant produces about 124,000 engine controllers,
antilock brake sensors, and speed control units a day. And
because each product has between 400 and 500 parts,
this means that there are more than 5 million individual
parts to keep track of daily. Nonetheless, according to
the plant manager, when an order to change a product is
received, the changed units can usually be shipped within
24 hours!
The plant is able to respond to change orders
quickly because it has highly flexible automated
equipment, computer software that has been designed to
accommodate changes, and lean inventories that don't
have to be worked off before changed units can be
shipped.
This agile philosophy of being able to switch quickly-
and economically-from one design to another, with
little disruption, is being implemented throughout the
Ford Motor Company.
It is also being implemented in many other
companies, both large and small, as they shift away from
more traditional mass production methods that have heavy
emphasis on volume and cost reduction into production
methods that emphasize speed and flexibility. This
dramatic shift in the way things is made reflects a growing
trend as American companies strive to compete with
foreign companies.
Perhaps central to the process of agile
manufacturing is the rapid collection and processing of
information. For instance, extensive use of bar codes
provides information on the status of each product for Ford
managers at the plant in Landsdale. Moreover, if defects
are discovered, there is an electronic audit trail to trace the
defect back to the exact spot in the process where it
occurred, enabling management to focus efforts on
correcting the cause of the problem.

Questions

1. What is an agile manufacturer?

it is an approach where it emphasizes the flexibility of
the business or company that enables them to respond
quickly to the changing demands of customers and the
market.
2. What is the value of being an agile manufacturer?
An agile manufacturer can produce a large volume of
quantity of products in a short period of time that can
satisfy the demand of their customer or business partners
which also leads to higher profit. They can also manage a
change in orders because of its highly flexible automated
equipment, computer software that has been designed to
accommodate changes.

3. How could the managers at the plant keep track of the

five million parts each day?
Due to a very large volume of products manual audits
or tracking it manually is impossible so the manager uses
bar codes which enables them to track each product and
detect any defect in every product and can also determine
what part of the product is defected.
/with the use of bar codes, the managers are able to track
each product regardless of its volume. Also, they can track
the defects of the product from the exact spot which
occurred.
4. What are the keys to being an agile manufacturer?
The keys of being an agile manufacturer, you can
response to customers demand whether small or large
volume of quantity because of your highly innovated
equipment, computer software, and lean inventories.
/you have modern equipment that can process mass
production. They can track each product regardless of
numbers.