Issue 8: Lean Manufacturing Knowledge & Lean Production Dissemination in The UK

AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION AND GROWTH TEAM
Issue 8: Lean Manufacturing Knowledge & Lean Production

Dissemination in the UK
After a decade after the evidence of lean versus mass production automotive
assembler systems was presented in "The Machine That Changed The World"
(Womack, Jones and Roos 1990), the extent and quality of dissemination of lean
production practices remains limited. This issue has been most recently the subject of
questions at meetings of the Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee. This
knowledge base and its practical implementation is important if the UK supply chain
is to make improvements in performance. This priority has already been identified at
the assembler level in previous sections.
A recent doctoral study29 looked afresh at the question of differences in productivity

between lean production firms and those which have chosen to stick to traditional
mass promotion.
The Comparative Cases
In 1997-1998, three companies were selected to compare lean manufacturing

performance with traditional business models. In 1997, similar businesses from the
Japanese supply base to Toyota Motor Corporation were researched to establish the
practices and performance of these 'lean' businesses.
Selection Criteria of the Case Companies:

1. The case companies employed similar levels of employment (each company
employed between 620 - 640 persons)
2. The case companies would all operate at the first tier of supply in the UK
automotive supply chain.
3. Each company manufactured products with similar application but to different
customers. The products were all pressed metal parts.
4. The weight of the product and number of process steps were identical and used
identical technology.
5. The average age of workers was 36 years old.
The research found that Case A had all the features of the lean production model
albeit the human resources policies were not at the levels of Japanese lean
organisations. Cases B and C were deemed to be mass producers and compared well
against the traditional 'push' system of forecasted manufacturing. The superiority of
Case A was demonstrated in all operational performance measures including a
significant stock turn advantage and, if all companies were profit centres would have
a greater profit stream and also a more stable level of profit rather than swings in
profitability.
29
Rich (2002) who is a member of the DDM team conducted the study.
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The Lean Advantage
Case A was found to have superiority in the following areas of management:
Outbound Logistics
Case A shipped more regularly to its customers and operated with finished buffer
stocks (measured in a few hours). Cases B and C shipped less often and operated with
many days of inventory.
Operational Control
The production system of Case A was levelled to create a schedule for the average
number of daily products required. In process and between process buffers were held
with small safety stocks that allowed continued production whilst detected problems
were corrected quickly by the team and specialists.
The Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) at the bottleneck operation of Case A

was over 20 points higher than Cases B and C. OEE measures at other stations, except
painting, were also considerably better. Case A operated at World class (TPM level 1)
measures in 3 of its 4 key processes. Cases B and C managed level 1 TPM
performance in only 1 automated process each. Asset breakdowns were minimal at
Case A whereas Cases B and C suffered constant interruptions to schedules as a result
of poor asset management and held significantly higher buffers to compensate for
these interruptions.
The quality assurance regime at Case A meant that the entire manufacturing system
was exposed for no more than 20 minutes before defects could be detected (formal
systems of measurement) and all operators inspected products within cycle times.
Case A held a superior safety record in terms of the number of days between
accidents. Cases B and C operated with over twice the number of accidents.
Inbound Materials
Case A operated a supplier association of materials and component purchases. This
club addressed issues of quality, cost, delivery, design and environment. Case A also
had a longer trading history with its supply base and did not engage in changes in
sourcing. Cases B and C operated with annual contracts and constant switching of
supply.
The deliveries to Cases B and C contained high levels of quality defects (up to 2.8%
defects) and were subject to delays (73% on time delivery). Case A held no more than
2 days of in-bound materials, had variances in schedules of less than 5% (Cases B and
C were at the 25% levels), recorded much lower levels of supplier quality defects and
operated with on-time delivery performance of 93%.
The in-bound materials requirements were controlled with both kanban systems and
also a 'headline' and levelled forecast to assist suppliers in managing their medium
term capacity.
This secondary review demonstrated the superior performance that results from the
implementation of a lean production system that controls all aspects of the factory
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supply chain. Case A is recognised by its Japanese companies as an exemplar British

company.
Lean Dissemination in the UK
Various organisations, in the UK, have been involved with the dissemination of lean
production techniques. These institutions include a select few universities30, the
Automotive College, the SMMT Industry Forum, and a few private consulting firms.
SMMT Industry Forum
For the automotive industry, the SMMT Industry Forum spearheads the promotion of
lean manufacturing practices working with Japanese Master Engineers to improve the
performance of British supplier firms. The initiative has provided immense benefit to
the industry and more recently it has extended its remit to support improvement
campaigns in other economically important sectors (notably aerospace). Those
companies, involved with this research, which had used the service, had used the IF
for senior management networking and also for operational improvement
programmes. The quality of the service provided was rated as 'Very Good' by these
companies. The IF model has proven beneficial to industry, since its launch in 1996.
The industry would benefit from an extension of these activities and greater numbers
of companies being involved in Master Classes, team leader development and supply
chain groups. The IF is also capable of extending its product range and services to the
great benefit to the component sector.
"The industry Forum has worked with more than 450 companies
over the last 5 years with considerable success. We
need this to be replicated throughout the UK".
Graham Broome, SMMT IF, The Manufacturer Jan 2002
It is the view of the DDM team that the role and financing of the IF should be
reviewed with the intention of increasing the services and employees engaged in the
automotive and other sectors. The IF has high brand awareness and a good reputation
that deserves to be extended and enlarged.
Given the preceding analysis, an obvious extension of the IF activities include an

enlarged role in supply chain management programmes and activities involving larger
as well as SME automotive businesses. Additional activities would also include
programmes for the development of 'best practice' in design and programme
management to close the gap in the capabilities of British firms. Increasing levels of
design devolution from the assemblers to the supply chain mean that, the ability to
design new products is of growing importance. Increasing the dependency between
assemblers and 'design capable' suppliers would therefore generate a reluctance to
'switch sources' of supply as a result of these 'added UK capabilities' which do not yet
exist in the form of a critical mass.
30
Cardiff Business School is one of the few universities to offer a Masters Degree qualification in the
subject area.
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The Automotive College
The automotive college was created as a result of the earlier Andersen Report on the
development of the automotive industry. The college is a virtual network of colleges
and universities with an interest in the automotive sector and has reported some good
results from companies with which it has worked. There are two issues that affect the
college:
1. The future role of the college and its relationship with SMMT IF activities.
Relations between the two organisations are good and best practice information is
formally exchanged. This mechanism could be improved to allow the universities
involved to increase their activities with automotive companies.
2. The extension in terms of the number of universities involved in the network,

especially colleges with established records in the automotive sector, should be
investigated to increase the profile, regional coverage and resources of the
Automotive College. This approach would have a greater probability of success if
other universities with a strong reputation for their work in the sector were
encouraged by the DTI to join the network and to extend its geographical
coverage. An important addition would be to target universities with a
technological asset base that could be exploited by SME firms and to engage in
design issues with the automotive sector.
These issues should be investigated by the organisations concerned and a business

case presented to the DTI covering ways of extending operations and potential
funding opportunities. Another worthy extension of this initiative would be to use the
forum as a means of co-ordinating an extended network of Teaching Company
Scheme students.
The Teaching Company Scheme
The TCS system is an under-utilised programme, with many universities deciding that
the 'return on investment' of the scheme is low. TCS students gain from supervisory
support from the host university and provide a source of trained workers able to move
between industries at the end of the scheme. Other sections of this report have
acknowledged the role of this programme and the benefits for individuals, their
sponsor companies and the universities involved. As recent changes have shifted the
focus of the scheme to management and engineering issues, this system, operated by
local universities should be encouraged. The recommendation is that the TCS council
that governs the programme should identify key universities which could support the
development and dissemination of the programme's benefits. This scheme is very
attractive at the SME level and a possible extension of the programme might include a
TCS student working for a number of industrial sponsors in a geographic region to the
commercial benefit of each company.
Accelerate Programmes
The UK has benefited from recent 'Accelerate' improvement programmes operated in

its regions (namely the Midlands and Wales). This programme is inextricably linked
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to the institutions mentioned above and unites improvement activities through the
administration of such programmes by RDAs.
The Accelerate programmes have been proven to generate business results in the
regions and offer an ideal platform upon which to disseminate 'best practice'. The
ability to extend these operations depends securing funding for different sectors and
regions. Our recommendation is that the DTI should broker an arrangement with the
RDAs whereby a central fund is available to support Supply Chain Groups across
regional boundaries. The other activity required is that the DTI work with regional
partners on the formal review and evaluation of these schemes to ensue that they are
continuously improved In effect, the DTI should lead with other interested parties the
national quality assurance routines that surround these schemes31.
Other Regional Activities
There are many regional centres that promote lean production techniques, most
notably that operated at Trafford Park (Manchester). These activities offer many
benefits to the local community and businesses prepared to send employees to these
inexpensive public courses. Many of the seminars that are offered by these firms
include leading professional managers, academics and consultants in the delivery
processes. These activities should be extended on a regional scale in terms of
establishing a network of 'centres of excellence'. The general infrastructure required to
close this gap and shortfall in skills/improvement programmes would include:
1. An expansion of Industry Forum activities to include those identified earlier in

this report.
2. To develop a central body concerned with the development of training materials

for industry which are delivered locally in the regions.
3. The development of a centre for supply chain management 'best practice' and
support to industry.
4. A product development and programme management support system.
5. A senior-management level 'finishing school' for future generations of business

leaders (a central Automotive Academy concept). The academy would therefore
support the technology centres proposed in other AIGT reports (Low Carbon and
Telematics centres) and would complete the system in providing better
management, better supply chain control and the development of a 'design led'
capability for the automotive sector to exploit commercially.
6. Greater levels of integration with the RDA activities and support/quality assurance
processes to ensure all RDAs access the latest thinking and intelligence.
31
These interested parties should include the SMMT IF, the automotive college, other universities and
RDAs.
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Life Long Learning
Finally, with regard to the policy of life-long learning, the lean dissemination system
lacks one important ingredient, that of formal qualifications. As such, a working
group should be established to discuss how the training, offered by these
institutions32, could be used to gain credits with professional bodies. For the level of
training conducted it is expected that the Institute of Supervision and Management
(ISM) could be used to ensure that training is converted into factory projects and that
these go, in some way, to the personal qualifications of the individual. This latter
activity is best facilitated by the DTI offices located in the regions, LSCs and RDAs.
Summary
The extent of lean dissemination in the UK is low, with the notable exception of the
SMMT IF contribution, and lacks a critical mass of support to the needs of the
industry. The larger scale lean implementation programmes lie in the hands of private
consulting firms whose professional fees are prohibitive for smaller businesses.
Extensions and synergies with the providers listed in this section would be of benefit
to the industry and would appeal to the vehicle assemblers preference for 'high quality
and local' assistance. Given the geographic density of the automotive supply chain
there exist many opportunities to enhance the services to the automotive and other
industries.
The future activities of the institutions must be biased towards action at the
operational level of the business and also serve to promote the wider management
agenda and to 'raise awareness' of business issues. The implementation of lean
manufacturing and more importantly a lean supply chain (which favours local Just In
Time supply and an integrated network) is high on the 'shopping list' of most Regional
Development Agencies, Trade Associations and other bodies. It is clear from the
preceding sections, the integration and development of the supply chain is critical if
business is to be secured in the UK and the necessary step change in performance is to
be achieved.
Despite the need for sustained action and improvement, recent studies have shown
that the lean approach has a short 'pay back' time between implementation and
commercial results. According to Dr. Andrew Cave (Smallpiece Enterprises) Five UK
companies33 involved in a 16 day lean training programme have announced savings
and improvements showing “threads of success”34 (The Manufacturer August 2001)
reconfirming the process improvement approach and results similar to that of the
SMMT IF. In the UK, sources of 'lean knowledge' are generally expensive and to
make the most of the future development of this 'support system', HM Government
32
These institutions would include the Industry Forum and the Automotive College as well as other
'technology transfer' facilities such as the Trafford Park Centre in Manchester.
33
The five named UK companies include Aga Foodservice Group, Dunlop, Golden West Foods,
Chapmans Agricultural and Pall Infracombe.
34
The 'threads of success' quotation was used to present findings that the businesses had made
significant improvements and that the firms involved were developing the business support systems
needed to sustain and grow these benefits.
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should explore alternative options. These include the establishment of the Automotive
Academy to develop the future generations of senior managers in the automotive
industry, the development of supply chain and programme management capabilities
and finally the establishment of the regional technology/management centres in the
regions. To make the most of the approach for the UK economy though, where
demand for lean assistance vastly outweighs the supply of 'quality' solutions and
where current supply is too expensive for the SME group (unless subsidised) an
extension of the current system is required. These infrastructure investments are
essential to promote the process improvements and supply chain management
techniques so desperately needed by the middle and lower tiers in the automotive and
general manufacturing supply chains. This latter comment cannot be overstated
because it concerns the professionalism of UK management and those individuals,
upon whose decisions, the future of the industry will rest. A central Automotive
Academy, similar to those operated in other countries would serve this interest well.
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Issue 9: The Synchronised and 'E'nabled Supply Chain
A popular position promoted by the British media is that the Internet will
revolutionize the current manufacturing business model. This issue is closely linked
with the subject of lean supply chain practice and the logistics of supply components
and systems for vehicle assembly. The high levels of expectation concerning the
internet revolution have not gone far beyond the citing of individual case studies and
the term revolution, in business models in the automotive industry, may be overstated.
It is true that the Internet opens many opportunities and for the automotive industry it
has specific implications. Recently, the mass production vehicle assemblers have
engaged in open auctioning of contracts using the Internet and have extended their
purchasing reach to any firm in any location. The treatment of the supply base as an
open auction is not new but it does contravene the 'close working relationships'
between customers and suppliers that underpins the lean supply and Japanese
transplant approaches to supplier integration/collaboration. Two recent studies have
been conducted of this subject within the automotive sector. The first involved
Deloitte and Touche in collaboration with Cardiff Business School (2000). The
second study was conducted in April-June (2001) by the DTI and ANISA Consulting.
A summary of the surveys will now be presented.
The D&T Cardiff Business School 'Manufacturing with a small e' Report
The research for this report was conducted in the final quarter of year 2000 and
included 300 interviews with senior managers from British and American
manufacturing businesses with in-depth interviews involving leading management
experts in the UK35. The study looked at a cross-section of industrial segments
including the automotive, engineering, chemicals and household goods sectors. The
findings suggest that currently, less than 10% of the supply side and less than 10% of
the sales side of the survey was conducted using e-trading. The firms involved also
predicted that the volume of e-business bought and sold would rise dramatically from
year 2001 and, extrapolating from the data, 38% of the sample would be conducting
small amounts of buying and selling materials in this way. The importance of an e-
nabled supply chain was therefore reinforced by the anticipated growth by the UK
firms involved.
The survey also found that over 63% of the British firms sampled believed that e-
business would result in either a radical transformation of the supply chain or deliver
benefits to both trading partners. A further 21% believed that these electronic systems
would benefit the ‘powerful’ trading partner (typically the customer) and only 16% of
British firms believed it would have little impact on their business. Within the firm,
81% of British and 70% of American manufacturers sampled perceived e-business as
having an impact on its key business processes or providing a new business model
that would transform the firm on a company-wide scale.
35
The experts included Professor Garel Rhys CBE (Professor of Automotive Economics, Cardiff
Business School), Professor John Kay (Professor of Economics, London School of Economics),
Professor Patrick Barwise (London Business School) and Professor Jim Norton (Institute of Directors).
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The transforming power of e-business is also reflected in the development of a formal

e-business strategy to support the corporate objectives of the firm. 28% of UK
manufacturers had already launched implementation programmes that were endorsed
by senior management and a further 48% had engaged in a process of middle
management investigation prior to determining the firm’s position.
The survey found that technological barriers would not inhibit the implementation of
e-business solutions with the supply chain but concerns were expressed in terms of
the costs of investment, the general business culture and people skills.
In general, the firms involved found the measurement and financial justification of e-
business systems difficult and that no true ‘costing’ approach was being used. Instead
the firms were relying on a ‘leap of faith’ and the belief that e-trading was a
mandatory requirement for the industries concerned.
Most British manufacturers were at the beginning of the e-Business implementation

process and the senior managers of these manufacturing businesses have only just
awoken to the changes and trends in the market. Often the CEO is in a process of
denial, rejecting the hype that surrounds the industry, and attempting to ‘make sense’
of what is going on around the business. (From the interviews, these businesses have
an introverted view and also operate manufacturing systems and supply chains that
are not well controlled and cause operational problems in meeting the levels of
customer service demanded by existing clients). For these businesses, the immediate
requirements are to stabilise and control the flow of materials before implementing e-
Business solutions to attract more customers and secure the future of the business.
The attitude to e-Business, with low levels of senior management support is therefore
‘minimalist’ and would involve the ineffective use of a web-site as an electronic
billboard for potential customers.
However, the survey also identified a number of British companies with e-business
systems operating at the 'cutting edge' of the technology and with major plans to
extend these systems. These businesses, few in number, offered customers catalogue
links to products, diagrams and after-market replacement parts together with access to
technical maintenance manuals. The systems also monitored performance and issues
in the trading relationship (demand amplification and noise in sales). For the internal
manufacturing process, the E-Systems were employed to allow the integration of
production planning, treasury functions (low cash balances), purchasing of non-
strategic supplies, direct customer interface with inventory holdings and the
elimination of minimum order rules. At the supply side, the E-Systems were extended
to include level demand information, transparency of production programmes and
stock holdings. The systems were integrated with communal logistics providers,
invoicing routines, and replenishment orders.
The E-Systems were also used to develop in-house capabilities and new customer
offerings including connecting global design systems for Simultaneous Engineering
and on-line design. The systems were also designed for on-line employee learning and
work scheduling (including the rapid formation of project and creativity teams).
Overall though, the UK automotive industry was at the beginning of the e-business
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journey and awaiting a direct lead by the vehicle manufacturers in terms of the chosen
systems and the information that would be traded with suppliers.
DTI - ANISA Consulting Study Findings
The study, drawing from evidence collected from 150 automotive firms (average
turnover GB£5-10 Million), found:
59% of firms have no 'e-business' strategy a further 4% did not know.

23% of tier 1 companies had a strategy and 14% tier 2 companies.
48% of companies operated Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
23% Operated fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP)
29% employed electronic Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) systems
42% of companies operated Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP)
The firms were found to use new information technology in the following ways:
Tactical Usage
87% had a web-site and 37% provided on-line catalogues.
30% offered customers the ability to track orders
27% used such systems to procure materials from suppliers.
Capability Management
31% operated electronic systems to enhance collaborative product development
processes and 24% engaged electronic systems for Knowledge Management.
Just like the previous D&T study, the firms had no formal measurement system
concerning the benefits associated with such automation. However, the researched
firms acknowledged a number of derived benefits.
Benefits of 'E'
Improvements in information exchange 77% Winning new orders 30%
Improved Customer Service levels 60% Reduce purchase costs 24%
Improved efficiency38% Reduced inventory 18%
Overall, a staggering 17% of companies had no experience of 'e-business' and the

report presents a number of reasons why such a high proportion of supplier companies
lack such a key part of modern trading and 'order qualification' offerings. The authors
contend that automotive customers are holding the supply chain back in terms of
exploiting the new technology by a lack of customer endorsement for certain systems.
More generally, manufacturing businesses were concerned about technical training, a
lack of expertise, an additional lack of case study information of successful
applications and finally the absence of grant funding with which to capitalize these
projects.
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Summary
E-Business activity is low in the UK and many companies have not yet grasped the
significance of the new opportunities available. Neither of the recent surveys found
evidence of e-business strategies to support the overall goals of the firm and therefore
there remains an opportunity to promote 'e-business' for the automotive and general
manufacturing sectors.
Opening up the 'display window' for British firms and British products is an
opportunity that would enhance the position of firms in the lower reaches of the
automotive supply chain. Such an approach might also foster diversification of
products for these businesses, as many are not wholly dependent suppliers to the
automotive industry. Current nationwide initiatives in the area of e-business are
fragmented and relatively uncoordinated with different regions adopting different
promotional programmes. A better approach might well be to target the automotive
sector as an exemplar and gain a critical mass of connectivity. At the heart of this
initiative would be a broad agreement, involving the automotive assemblers and the
government, in order to promote a harmonized and integrated system. This aspect of
the research warrants a recommendation to assist British manufacturing firms in
identifying the opportunities available as a result of e-business and the search for new
customers with which to trade. Such a project should be conducted by the university
system and the specialist research centres in this field.
The integrated and national approach which has been achieved in the Japanese Steel
industry has brought significant benefits from e-trading. The focus of the “Kozai
Club” was to reduce information costs, moving from push type data transfer to pull
type systems and to facilitate information sharing on a supply chain scale. The
standard has been established in over 100 larger companies and now the promotion of
the system is for the small and medium sized supply chain firms. The new systems
have been designed to replace the traditional Japanese approach that was, similar to
the British context, based on one-to-one relationships between the steel manufacturer,
service centre, component maker and the trading company. This traditional Japanese
metals system was inefficient and a high cost solution that was prone to errors at each
firm and the new system promotes information sharing for mutual gain. The pilot
programme was concluded in 1996, it was put 'on the web' and has been continuously
enhanced (inter-linked databases). The new system allows a ‘Total inventory’
approach involving master (parent) coil inventory which can be managed across the
supply chain as well as interrogation of the system for specific material. It has
resulted in significant benefits to all parties. This form of system and transparent
understanding would greatly benefit the British system and help to raise supply chain
performance for this sector if UK manufacturing within which, as we have previously
identified in this report, there are significant benefits to be exploited for the metals
and automotive chains.
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Issue 10: Skills and Training in the Automotive Industry36
Long-term productivity remains a core objective of the government (DTI/DfEE White

Paper 'Opportunity for all in a world of change' / DTI/HMT 'Enterprise and
Productivity Challenge'). Improving workforce skills is a key task as a route to greater
productivity and economic growth. The key requirements for the automotive industry
are for greater variety of products to be supplied by fewer organisations that interface
directly with the assembler, greater use of new technology, and new skill sets for
employees to manage these emerging automotive systems (design, supply chain,
continuous improvement etc.). The issue of skills and training within the automotive
industry is a long-standing debate and this subject was addressed as part of this study.
Various features of the UK system of skills provision were tested to find opportunities
for meaningful progression in terms of employee skills led productivity improvement.
Human Resources Policy and Local Management
The survey has found that British assemblers and manufacturers retain responsibility
over the key human resources policies that they operate and that these are established
and implemented locally at the site concerned. This finding confirms an earlier study
conducted by North East Economic Research Unit (NERU) that focused on
employment issues in automotive industry, in the North and Midlands. The AIGT
survey also found that the personnel HR departments also operated the formal systems
and policies concerning the development of employees.
Human Resources: Formalisation of Plans
The study tested the formalisation of planning and support structures at the assembler,
engine manufacturing and supply chain levels and found high levels of evidence that
assembler systems are formalized, structured, documented and resourced with
specialists.
36
The author of this report would like to acknowledge the long standing and active involvement of Mr
Francis Evans (DTI) in the education and skills debates in the UK.
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Employee Statistics: Assembler Level

• All companies operated formal HR strategies, policies and have dedicated training
teams. The policies cover skill needs, training programme development, delivery
and post-training evaluation at all employee grade levels.
• All companies operate with employees who are qualified training auditors and
assessors.
• The average employee job tenure is well in excess of a decade with the firm and
the average age of employees is in the 40-year-old bracket.
• Attrition rates vary between 3 and 5%
Employee Statistics: Supply Chain
• A dedicated training and development team was uncommon at the supply chain
level and instead businesses were reliant upon external providers.
• Average employee age was 37 years with a average job tenure of 5 years.
• Absenteeism varied enormously throughout the industry with an average of 5%
and extremes in excess of 20%.
Accessibility to New Recruits
A common perception in manufacturing industry is that there exists a vacuum in

certain management and specialist skill sets. This was tested and the findings of this
survey indicate that the problem is not one of quantity but of quality of applications to
meet the job criteria of the organisation concerned.
Applications per Job Grade: Assembler Applications per Job: Supply Chain
Level Level
Front line management position 20:1 Front line management position 10:1
Qualified Engineers 15:1 Qualified Engineers 10:1
Newly Graduated Engineers 20:1 Newly Graduated Engineers 40:1
Maintenance Technicians 15:1 Maintenance Technicians 25:1
It is noted that these application figures vary widely between individual companies
with some businesses facing almost a 1:1 rate of applications for engineering and
maintenance jobs. To test further the perceived issues concerning skill shortages in
the UK the generic and specific company shortages were reviewed. All assemblers
did acknowledge skills gaps and problems with recruitment of quality workers and
these were deemed to result from a national problem with quality of these staff
grades.
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Skills Shortages by Grade of Employee (Assembler Level)

The shortage of Engineering Staff involved in product engineering, manufacturing,
computer-based engineering and specialist automotive engineering applications is a
significant problem. The countermeasures employed by the vehicle assemblers to
reduce these skill shortages have included a mix of training, enhanced personal
development packages, a tightening of recruitment processes and selective links with
universities and FE colleges.
A Front Line Managers and Team Leader skill shortage was also acknowledged to
include the quality of production-oriented team leaders. These individuals fall outside
of modern apprenticeships and other forms of nationwide support. The
countermeasures employed by the businesses included additional training and 'on the
job' development activity. However, in the majority of cases, this development
activity was fragmented, piecemeal and operated at the level of the individual rather
than general re-training and development.
Operational Staff skills shortages included all forms of maintenance technician

(especially electrical and automation skills). Countermeasures include links and
promotional activities with local schools, apprenticeships and increased training.
For the supply chain, a different picture emerges and a shortage in purchasing
professionals is acknowledged as a major concern as well as a national shortage in
multi-skilled technicians (a lack of electrical skills was a common concern). The
problem with the supply of engineers is also confirmed to include management levels,
quality engineers and manufacturing engineers. These shortages were thought to
reflect both national and regional skill shortages.
Differentiating between generic and specific skills gaps, for the entire supply chain,
the results of the survey are consistent and include generic issues concerning problem
solving, IT usage, and basic numeracy/literacy of operators. Specific issues concern
electrical and electronics skills sets, manufacturing engineering and control
engineering. The difficulty associated with these specific skills includes the length of
training time required for specialist assembler assets and also relevant
experience/training by educational providers.
Human Resources: The Quality of Training Provision
The vehicle assemblers and supply chain firms tend to formally appraise the quality of
service and value of the training programmes and providers that they retain. On the
whole, the assemblers opt for local support37 and would welcome improvements in
the quality of local provision in their regions. In general terms the assembler
organisations regarded local providers as good in terms of variety but were highly
37
The local network of organisations supplying support to the vehicle assemblers and local automotive
supply chains represents an efficient means of delivering training. This would imply that an
improvement to the national support for the automotive industry needs to have a dimension of local
'delivery' by providers of 'high quality' training programmes.
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critical of the quality of the deliverers themselves and their knowledge of the
automotive sector. These criticisms would suggest that there is some scope to change
and improve the quality of training at the local level. The approach most likely to
succeed would be for a national centre or responsible body to develop basic training
materials and disseminate them to local organisations and maintain these materials
(including incorporating latest management though and 'best practice')38.
Local & National Universities
Local universities were used by all assemblers and at all levels of the organisation
including the shop floor, administrative and specialist staff, and senior management.
The general criticisms of the local academic providers involved the responsiveness of
the system and the variability in the quality of the staff. Universities elsewhere in the
UK and in Europe were rarely used and this would reinforce the assemblers
preference for local delivery of training at all levels in the firm.
Colleges of Higher Education
HE colleges were used some of the time and were employed to provide technical and
professional training. These institutions suffered from variability in teaching standards
and rated 'average' in terms of the overall quality of service provided.
Local and Technical Colleges
The local and technical colleges provide shop floor, clerical and junior management
training and again meet only the 'average' quality rating by the assemblers.
Local Independent Consultants
Local consultancy companies were rated as good and responsive providers of

educational services to a mainly management audience. These businesses provided
specialist-training services often in well-defined areas of skills shortage.
Professional Bodies
Professional bodies ranked 'very good' by those assemblers who engaged their
services for engineering grades of employee but the services procured were restricted
to specialist areas (mainly in the areas of engineering, robots, logistics and
purchasing).
38
It should be noted that the DTI M90s programme did provide some of this material for industry and
certainly provided access to documents that increased management awareness of key processes
(quality, just in time, purchasing etc.) but this series has been stopped. It would be timely to review this
decision and to evaluate the merits of reinstating these booklets CF P81
66
The use of different training formats by the supply chain varies greatly as a function
of company size. In most cases, senior and middle management training was
conducted at local universities with a distinct bias towards MBA qualifications. These
institutions were rated good but suffered criticisms in terms of the theoretical rather
than applied content of the courses. Professional managers and some senior managers
were trained at national universities with a quality of service rated as 'Good'. No
company sent personnel to European universities for training. The greater use of
training providers was recorded at the HE (HNDs), technical college (B\TEC), and
professional Body levels. Again these institutions were all rated between 'Good' and
'Very Good'. Local consultants were also retained but the quality of service provided
was variable. The SMMT Industry Forum, was rated uniformly highly by employing
companies.
In summary, the skills provision is considered to be good in terms of the improvement

of employees’ skills as far as it went. Courses covered functional and job skills which
will serve to improve industry only so far and misses the vital cross-functional
management processes needed to exploit 'best practice' design, supply chain
management, operations and engineering within the firm. As such, the national
education system would be improved by the provision of high quality and local
supplementary training in lean management techniques. A common criticism of the
companies surveyed included the provision of leadership and management skills as an
integral part of the formal training received and that the current training and education
system lacks an attention on the life skills of management and individual self-
development.
The UK System of Skills Provision: Advantages and Disadvantages
In general terms the vehicle assemblers rated the strengths of the total UK system of
skills provision as the established and broad nature of what is available and that the
institutions concerned were well meaning and interested in supporting the assembler.
However, the perceived disadvantages of the current system include a general lack of
focus in product specification, the self justifying nature of standard training packages,
a lack of 'cutting edge' products, excessive bureaucracy and a generally low calibre of
staff that deliver the training39. These criticisms represent some cause for concern in
terms of the national skills system and would suggest that these providers are not
disseminating best practice to the industry and go no further than the delivery of
standard training packages.
For supply chain companies, the strengths of the system were considered to be in the
expertise of providers. The NVQ system was regarded as having gained credibility as
a result of quality improvements. The weaknesses of the system concerned issues of
publicity and promotion of courses and too much time involved with the bureaucracy
of courses. In addition, companies perceived that there was an insufficient range of
courses that assisted the development of technician skills.
39
The specific criticism here is the deliverers lack automotive experience and an understanding of the
pressures and practices of the industry. Instead, deliverers take a text-book approach to best practice
without explaining how or why such systems are operated.
67
Britain Vs. Other Countries
When asked to compare the UK system with other countries, the vehicle assemblers
highlighted the German system as the benchmark and, in particular, the much stronger
emphasis on vocational training and that German students in particular qualify to
higher technical standards with rounded knowledge bases and often in a particular
specialism. The responses of the study concerning the skills and training provided to
senior management of British firms found a significant agreement that the industry
lacks a 'Centre of Excellence' in the training of 'senior managers' for industry and the
automotive sector in particular. A number of key industry 'thought leaders' have
proposed that there is an opportunity to increase the interaction, training and access to
basic R&D information concerning the automotive industries and have promoted the
establishment of a senior management automotive college similar to the German
system of senior management education. The system in Germany (Aachen and
Fraunhoffer Institutes) produces and has produced, almost every senior manager in
Germany and fulfils the role of uniting the strategic direction of the German
automotive sector and focusing of efforts across all the major stakeholders in the
sector.
Improvements to the UK System
There were many improvements that the assemblers would recommend to improve
the service they receive. In general, the businesses preferred a more in-depth approach
to vocational training and training to promote the attractiveness of manufacturing. At
the practical level, many complained about the constraints and bureaucracy of the
interactions with LSCs and government departments (DTI and DFES) in particular the
time delays and amount of paperwork that must be completed for simple training
requirements. The improvements suggested by all supply chain companies included
the promotion of courses and "the marketing of non-degree careers and associated
vocational training". These issues, once again, confirm the need for the development
of a central Automotive Academy that is supported by regional centres of technology
and management excellence that has been identified in earlier sections of this report.
Flexibility and Mobility of Human Resources
In parallel to the issue of attracting quality labour and training employees, the AIGT
survey assessed the firm's ability to retain trained workers. Generally, most
assemblers reported problems with retention and highlighted the engineering,
maintenance and supply chain management grades of employees as those most
difficult to retain. The countermeasures to stop this problem included changes to
remuneration packages, greater training and project work to improve the individual
and provide intellectual challenges.
All supply chain companies reported significant difficulties in retaining key skills
especially concerning qualified engineering and management personnel. The
countermeasures have included additional features to basic remuneration packages.
Graduate retention was a particular issue of concern to the businesses.
68
Overall the issues facing automotive firms concern the retention of personnel charged
with the development of core business systems and engineering/purchasing
capabilities which confirms significant shortfalls in the automotive supply chain. We
recommend that a meeting of industry stakeholders, by region, should be held to air
such issues and to establish working groups to address these issues. It is considered
important that the vehicle assemblers are present at these meetings and representatives
of the RDAs and the DTI should provide facilitation for these discussions.
Newly Recruited Workers
The major issues faced by all assemblers were the adjustment of the worker to the
unique requirements of vehicle manufacturing, adjusting to the discipline of the
workplace and also in transferring theory into practice (for specialist grades). For
newly recruited graduate engineers, the assemblers contended that the UK was
standards varied sharply between excellent universities from which they would recruit
and the remainder of the university Engineering Schools. Generally, the concern was
that, even the good universities do not equip their students with appropriate project
management and interpersonal skills. The supply chain firms echoed these issues and
that it should form part of the regional dialogue agenda and should be a 'design
criterion’ for the proposed new system of centres of excellence and the national
'Automotive Academy'.
Labour Market Laws and Britain
A review of British labour laws was not a primary concern of this study, however, the
questionnaires and interviews did address this issue following several anecdotal
accounts, by senior manufacturing managers of multi-divisional companies that the
flexibility of UK labour laws allows for an easier process of factory closure. The
vehicle assemblers forcibly reject this contention and defend the moral and legal basis
of their processes of consultation. Each business also argued that it had a right to
adjust the workforce in line with business conditions and to use existing policies and
procedures, that were considered fair, for such adjustments to meet economic
demands and production/cost pressures.
The AIGT Findings: Regional Dialogue Seminars
The network meeting process yielded many points from the automotive suppliers in the
audiences40. These issues included a vibrant debate covering the skills level in the sector
and two main areas of shortage were identified that confirm the issues that were noted
in previous sections:
1) Engineering, and,
2) General management
The meetings also discussed the issue of comparatively low salaries in this sector but
this was not seen to be exclusively the reason for skill shortages. It was believed that
there is insufficient effort directed towards promoting engineering within the
compulsory education system. The contention was that an industry/government
40
Approximately 200 business leaders were involved in the 'round table' AIGT discussion panels.
69
partnership should be established to attract school leavers into engineering

apprenticeships and to attract women to engineering. Schools targets should be
broadened not just to encourage them to push school leavers through the higher
education system, but also to incentivise engineering apprenticeships. The latter
would support the EEF report (2001) which suggests that National Insurance rebates
should be used to provide incentives for manufacturers who suffer as a result of off-
site training for engineers. We would support this recommendation and would
propose the relevant government departments should conduct an investigation of this
area.
In parallel, the seminars also identified the declining interest in maths, physics and
engineering amongst children as a factor reducing the number of potential recruits to
the workforce and more importantly the children who could potentially become
engineering graduates. This is an important feature and a skills vacuum that, if
addressed now, provides results only in five years time as new engineering graduates
enter employment. It was also considered that the value system in the UK makes it
hard to persuade students to take up subjects like engineering due to the
comparatively poor image of the career path which itself is not a true reflection of
engineering within the automotive sector. The government promotion of
manufacturing is not as proactive as it should be which leaves room for criticisms that
the government is not concerned about the manufacturing economy.
Many attendees argued that a lot of the UK’s training infrastructure was lost in the
early 1980s and has not been replaced nor upgraded. The attendees also said that the
larger British firms are no longer training more staff than they need thus providing
potential recruits for their suppliers and instead have begun to pay relatively high
wages to poach staff from their suppliers.
Attendees also identified regional and local issues that affect the availability of
engineering resources and recommended that firms should an effort in things such as
providing work experience and allowing staff time to serve as communal
'Neighbourhood Engineers' if they are to counteract negative images of engineering.
This approach is similar to an 'out reach' programme and would benefit the SME
sector as well as serving to integrate automotive manufacturers with the schools and
colleges as part of the overall supply chain. This issue includes the provision of
finances to pay for equipment such as CAD-CAM systems that might attract pupils
and the lower the poor image of the industry as not at the cutting edge.
Generally, the attendees considered the standard of training to be weaker in the UK

than our European counterparts especially Germany where engineers train for longer
and develop broader business awareness before entering their careers. In the UK, the
senior manufacturing representatives considered the skills base of lower supply chain
tiers to be ‘amateurish’ and this poses a problem in the UK automotive context where
the future of the industry depends largely upon professionalism and the integration of
management in the design of efficient and cost-effective processes (from design to
lean manufacturing and from the facility to its dependent supply chain). Particular
skill problem areas included “lean skills” (where the talent pool is larger but still
lacking in depth of understanding) at the management level and a lack of technician
and diagnostic skills within most workplaces.
70
It was noted that any increase in the number of people going to university reduces the
number of potential technicians available in the short term. The approach to the
demand and supply of qualified personnel was considered to require careful planning
at the national level to avoid starving the industry of graduates yet also promoting
graduate engineering as a rewarding career. Overall the regional seminars confirmed
that management and engineering skills require significant attention and a coalition
response by key industry stakeholders. Without good factory managers then little
'systems change' within and between companies in the supply chain will take place.
Also with low levels of innovation and training investment in management the result
is that good managers are lost to other sectors or to other countries. Losses at the
management and engineering levels of the business were considered the most severe
and damaging, of all threats over which the industry had direct influence, to the long
term competitive position of the UK.
71
Issue 11: The Engineer - Image & The Skills Debate
Many of the points raised during the research programme concern the image of
engineering and the process of developing good engineers..These findings confirm
much earlier research in this area conducted with general manufacturing businesses.
The skills debate pervades industry with, the competitiveness of UK manufacturers
high on the agenda at management and trade union conferences (e.g. the recent AEEU
(now Amicus) conference was dominated by references and direct exploration of this
issue). This issue will now be explored and it will be argued that the automotive
industry is barometer of the general concern for the diagnostic capabilities of the
British knowledge base. To take one example of many Bentley Motor cars have
acknowledged that they face difficulties in recruiting graduate engineers due to a
shortage of UK talent at a recent recruitment show in Birmingham (2001). They
proposed “At an operational level we compete for the same people – virtually all
vehicle manufacturers are chasing a disproportionate number of engineers”
This argument is further reinforced by the professional recruitment consultancy

sector who have also complained that “There is a massive lack of qualified engineers
with the right experience … The engineering industry is just not sexy enough to
attract the number of graduates it needs” Simon Young (Michael Page Recruitment).
The AIGT survey provides a strong base of evidence to suggest that the quantity of
engineers with appropriate skills falls short of automotive and general industry needs.
Given the high levels of applicants per available position at automotive assemblers
and supply companies it would appear that there is a main problem in terms of
engineers with suitable experience and skills.
The recent EMTA Mori poll highlights that, at the beginning of the process of
graduate engineering as a career, there are difficulties. Whilst comparative data is not
easy to assimilate, it is suspected that this is not a uniquely British phenomenon but
anecdotal evidence, from the research suggests that other European countries do not
suffer shortage to the same extent.
The EMTA MORI (2001) poll on School Leaver attitudes and skills:
• 7 out of 10 secondary school age students say they know not very much or nothing about
engineering as a career route.
• 13% of boys put engineering in their top quartile of attractive careers.
• 8 out of 10 girls said they knew little about engineering. Only 4% of girls surveyed said
that they would consider a career in engineering.
72
What Will Attract Youth to Engineering?
Top three drivers for school age students:

1. Good pay
2. Interesting work
3. Responsibility
According to the recent opinion polls, the motivational factors that attract school
leavers into certain professions and career routes concern basic issues of working
lifestyle and progression. This issue is one of national importance and requires co-
ordination at the UK level, involving professional bodies and trade associations.
These dialogues should focus on how to resolve the gap and the duration of the
engineering skills vacuum (which is predicted to last, at minimum, for 7-8 years as
school students change their subject selection patterns). Engineering degree courses
require science GCSEs to be taken and these choices, in the UK education system, are
taken at a very early stage. GNVQs and modern apprenticeships are not taken in
sufficient numbers to redress the vacuum41. A depressing scenario is faced if simple
laws of probability are applied at each stage of the British education process then the
UK will produce, at the end of the university pipeline, fewer and fewer qualified
graduates of suitable calibre for the automotive industry. These issues are important if
the UK automotive industry is to have access to suitably qualified individuals for
available positions. It is the case that the high levels of applicants per available
position contains a high level of speculative applications whereby the individual is not
suitable for the job specification offered.
UK Training Routes for Industry
Starting Learning Training NVQ Status

Qualifications
A Levels, A/S Levels Degree Professional 4/5 Chartered
& Vocational A Levels Higher National Certificate Development Engineer
(critical decision age or Diploma 4/5 Incorporated
16 - with qualification Engineer
age 18 years)
Intermediate GNVQ, 4 National Certificate Advanced Modern 3/4 Engineering
GCSEs Graded A-C Vocational A Levels Apprenticeship Technician
(critical decision age
14 - with qualification Craftsperson
City & Guilds Final 3
age 16 years)
Certificate
BTEC First City & Guilds Certificate Foundation Modern 1/2 Operator
Foundation, GNVQ, Apprenticeship
GCSEs
Source: EMTA Engineering Training Routes.
The age banding of the modern apprenticeship programme is also of concern to

industry given the upper age ceiling for potential applicants. This survey has found
that the average age of employees is, for supply chain companies in the mid thirties
41
At the time of this report over 36,000 modern apprenticeships were available in the UK with only
24,000 actively in operation.
73
and this age group is not eligible for such support. From the study it was not possible
to assess in detail the relationship between the team leader grade and age. However,
the average age and average tenure of the employees at the assemblers and the
manufacturers would suggest that this grade of management is not in the age profile
covering modern apprenticeships etc. New means of on-line training materials for
remote access and self study would therefore seem appropriate given the survey
finding that the education system is variable and that employees lack lean and
problem-solving skills. These individuals, who control business processes throughout
the supply chain, must therefore be the focus of sector and national initiatives to
improve the skill base. At the moment, these people 'fall outside' of national skills
programmes and have insufficient technical skills to engage in professional
development activities as qualified engineers.
Don't De-skill Engineers: Up-skill the Team Leaders
The engineering debate in the UK has focused squarely on the issue of the graduate
engineer in a belief that this single point of improvement will influence the future
performance of the British automotive and general manufacturing sectors. This
hypothesis, whilst correct as far as it goes, is insufficient to truly address the
manufacturing and engineering problem. Instead there is evidence to suggest that the
routine aspects of the engineering role should be deployed to the front line
supervision (team leader) and team levels. This process is integral to the Japanese
approach known as Total Productive Maintenance. The TPM approach seeks to
deploy routine maintenance and technical problem-solving to line teams and thereby
to release the time from engineers to engage in project activities. This approach would
seem to offer many advantages to the UK economy, not least in slowing the attrition
of the engineering skill set and enhancing the diagnostic capabilities of the team
leader (there are many more team leaders in the UK automotive supply chains than
engineers). This process would also increase the attractiveness of engineering as a
profession.
Little can be done to sway the belief of graduates that the individual will not serve an
entire career at one company but instead will engage in a series of contracts
(effectively making the engineer a career 'journey person'). The latter would suggest
that British automotive manufacturers are not doing enough to change the self-
perception of the engineer and that not enough 'attractors' exist to retain the engineer
at the place of work. Again this would involve significant national promotion of
engineering as an interesting career in association with professional and trade
associations. To satisfy the problems associated with under-performance from lower
tiers in the automotive supply chain, we would recommend a dialogue between the
Chartered Engineering professional bodies andthe Chartered Institute of Purchasing
and Supply to be facilitated by the industry and DTI. The agenda would be to explore
ways of combining careers to allow engineers to work as supplier development
specialists (a quasi neighbourhood engineer but for the supply chain to the employing
company). The latter should result in new qualifications for engineers and new career
routes that do not disrupt the professional allegiance of the engineer but offer benefits
to companies that cannot secure high quality and quantity of engineering staff.
74
The latter solution fits with the prescriptions of Bullen, Taylor and Mughal (1999),
who suggest that the automotive industry needs to equip new graduates with the
technical skills of engineering whilst also developing the managerial and inter-
personal skills sets needed to lead numbers of employees. They state “The importance
of ‘business engineers’ to the future success of the automotive industry is established.
These ‘business engineers’ require continuing professional development to enable
them to take a systems view of the industry and its processes, whilst developing their
technical and managerial capabilities”.
From “Developing Engineering in the Automotive Industry”42
The issue identified by Bullen et al (1999) is important and suggests that the on-going
development and commercial training of the engineer is a process that will provide
business benefits. In the context of the automotive sector, the preference is to source
from local trainers and this would imply that the current training system, with
sufficient endorsement from the relevant institutions43 should investigate the most
effective and efficient means of supporting a lifetime of engineering contribution to
the firm. This activity would help to reduce the mobility of engineers and would
appeal to the continuous post-qualification development of the individual. Again, a
key design criteria concerning this issue is the maintenance of a high standard of
quality training materials that are delivered locally to the firm.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute Report it is argued that the “development
of employer-led training and design of processes to suit certain levels of skill” are key
to improving national competitiveness. At one extreme position this could imply the
establishment of company-based university systems. Few automotive companies have
previously engaged in Company University systems, the highest profile of which is
the Unipart U which is based upon developments made by Motorola in the US. The
model has been transferred to other sectors such as the British Aerospace Virtual
University (established May 1997) to train 'systems engineers' in collaboration with
Loughborough University. However, this form of education is expensive and beyond
the financial resources of most automotive firms. The desirability and extension of
such a 'corporate' system is unlikely in an industry that does not make large profits
and in a climate whereby other resources are competing for funding.
Finally, there exist many opportunities to change the role of the engineer and to
appeal to the true value of engineering, that of engaging in projects that demand
diagnostic problem-solving based upon qualified engineering skills. The key to
freeing up, engineers time to allow them to engage in these roles is the effective use
of the team leader in industry. This important organisational position was identified
by a number of benchmarking studies (Andersen 1993, 1994) which addressed the
comparative performance of British firms. Team leader development is also a key
focus for the SMMT IF. To enhance the role of the engineer there is potential to up-
skill team leaders to take on routine engineering activities (such as those required by
TPM). These skills would allow team leaders to control, at the front line, the assets
that are employed by the firm and also to engage in more appropriate problem-solving
42
Paper number C574/019/99 in International Conference on Education in Automotive Engineering
(ImechE November 1999)
43
These being the professional bodies, DTI, SMMT IF, Automotive College, RDAs, LSCs, EMTA,
EEF and a central 'Academy'.
75
activities. This issue is one worthy of future exploration and development. To put it
bluntly, this report has identified a problem with training good team leaders from
individuals who are already employed by the firm. The report has also found a
problem with a skills shortage (quantity) and a skills gap (commercial skills) with
engineering grades. As there are more team leaders in industry than engineers, it
would seem appropriate to promote and develop the team leader grade and to develop
some basic engineering skills at the team leader level. Many British institutions, and
especially the Trade Union Amicus have been promoting this agenda for many years
and have proven 'exemplar' businesses with whom they have worked. Given the
availability of 'Partnership' funding for such management-union collaboration, this
would appear to offer many benefits to UK manufacturing and for the automotive
industry in particular. The recommendation is that this issue should be explored, at the
highest level of government with the leaders of the Trade Union movement, as the
process and funding is already in place to move this agenda forward. To date, the UK
has been subject to surveys and continual complaints, from industry and education,
that engineering skills are insufficient but little has, in reality changed to close these
shortages and gaps.
76
Issue 12: The British University Research System & The Automotive
Industry
The research skills of the British University system are held in high regard by the
automotive industry and findings from the survey reflect well upon the provision of
research based initiatives for the automotive sector. To date though, too few
automotive firms have fully understood the commercial benefit of working with the
university system. In parallel, the university system itself has certain features that are
not conducive to industrial collaboration and the way in which universities are
measured does not necessarily support such collaborations. The university sector has a
vital and important role to play alongside the national government and DTI in
assisting industry to develop and grow and to support the challenges presented to the
UK automotive businesses.
The DTI Competitiveness White Paper states that "The most dynamic economies have
strong universities ... the UK has a world-class science, engineering and design base
which provides a pool of talented people to work in and with business".
The report so far has identified that the automotive industry has reservations
concerning the uniform quality of education provision provided by the University
sector. The 'buying criteria' of the automotive industry, expressed earlier in this report,
included that educational services should be provided locally and include latest
thinking delivered by high calibre individuals. The priorities for research included
design engineering processes and 'near market' technology (see 'Issue 3' of this
report). The university research sector was considered by the vehicle assemblers to be
'good' but on occasions was described as 'poor' in terms of the ability to
commercialise the work. This suggests that the university system has some way to go
in improving its services, potentially more to offer the industry and dissemination
activities are not sufficiently effective for the industry to understand the availability of
high quality research. From our research, it would appear that the issue is one of the
communication of research and, for the vehicle assemblers, the issue is one of
understanding the process of commissioning such research. It is noted that key
assemblers including Nissan UK, Ford and others are active sponsors of UK research.
Beyond these assemblers, few first tier companies are engaged in research activities in
the UK.
EUCAR Research Priorities
British automotive industry research is inextricably linked to the broad issues related
to vehicles and society at the European level. At the centre of 'thought leadership', at
the European level, is the European Committee for Automotive R&D) or EUCAR
initiative that comprises of the research directors from the major European vehicle
assemblers. EUCAR serves as the main intermediary body between the automotive
industry and the Research Directorate of the European Commission. The body is
powerful and linked to other trade groups (such as the Association of European Car
Constructors) and the organisation is currently focused upon traffic management
including environmental emissions controls.
77
EUCAR Research Priorities

1. Vehicle electronics
2. Mobility and multi-mobility options
3. The future of the internal combustion engine
4. Active and Passive Safety management
5. Telematics
6. Low Weight Ratio Vehicles and construction materials
7. Alternative Drive Sources
8. Driver Vehicle interfacing
9. Hydrogen as a fuel
10. Product and manufacturing process design
The Foresight Vehicle Initiative
Foresight Vehicle is the UK’s national automotive R&D programme, aiming to

promote technology and to stimulate suppliers to develop and demonstrate market-
driven enabling technologies for future motor vehicles which must satisfy stringent
environmental requirements as well as meeting expectations for safety, cost,
performance and desirability. To date the Foresight Vehicle research portfolio is
worth over £80 million and involves over 400 organisations (industry and academia).
Government has committed a further £17million to the programme over the next 3
years.
The FV technology ‘road mapping’ exercise is an important activity for the UK and
involves all major stakeholders in the process of planning the medium and long term
timing plan for the UK position within the global industry. The FV mapping process
is however long and, occasionally, in its current state the road maps are questioned
(though doubts usually concern timing rather than content of innovations).
Technology road mapping is a technique that is used widely in industry to support
strategic planning. Roadmaps generally take the form of multi-layered time-based
charts, linking technology developments to future product and market requirements.
Companies such as Motorola, Philips and ABB pioneered the approach and have used
it for many years and with commercial success. More recently roadmaps have been
used for supporting industry foresight initiatives, such as the Semiconductor Industry
Association and Aluminium Industry technology roadmaps. Foresight Vehicle is
using the road mapping technique to identify future priorities for the UK Foresight
Vehicle Programme, supported by the University of Cambridge Institute for
Manufacturing.
Overall, the UK University sector carries out engineering-related research of high

significance to the automotive industry sponsored through the Foresight Vehicle
initiative and also by private agreements between automotive manufacturers and their
selected university partners. The question is therefore, if the research is aligned with
the interests of the European agenda is there a problem with the commercialisation
and dissemination of such publicly-funded works? The latter would include the
quality of the work and also the incentives of the University sector to commercialise
its activities. For the latter issue there exists some available literature and positions
volunteered by the University sector. The first issue concerns the commercialisation
and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of research and the second concerns the
78
measurement/incentivisation of the University system (effectively the Research

Assessment Exercise).
The Automotive Industry (STEEPI) Road Mapping

Now +5 years +10 years +15 years Vision - 2022
Market / S Time
T
Industry E
E Trends drivers, key issues and uncertainties
P
drivers I
Evolution of Beacons, encompassing the required and desirable functional

Beacons performance of road transport systems of the future
Technical
Required and desired technological response, including research requirements
Group areas
Other Policy, infrastructure, partnerships, inward investment, etc.
The opportunities offered by the university sector involve offering services and
sponsored (funding council supported) research involving the automotive supply
chain. Of the firms interviewed only a handful of companies in the supply chain had
an experience of working with the HE and FE sectors on research issues. These
companies (6 in total) had worked on supply chain research initiatives as part of
previous EPSRC initiatives.
It would appear that this aspect of the wider automotive supply chain could offer
tremendous benefits to the UK automotive supply chain and the calibre of researchers
at the Universities could well help to address the engineering shortages at the
automotive manufacturing businesses. From the previous issues explored, the
programmes that should be funded by the EPSRC Foresight Vehicle and other
programmes would include the following extensions to the current valuable portfolio:
1. The development of a collective network of automotive suppliers to work on

supply chain management techniques and to develop good practices through case
materials. This would compliment the work of Prof. Kehoe (Liverpool), Prof.
Evans (Cranfield) and Prof. Hines (Cardiff) to name just a few of the major figures
in this area. If a situation could be established within which different regional
networks of automotive manufacturers were combined to share experiences then
this would be a powerful and rewarding programme of work.
2. The second area of attack would include and extension of the current design-
related initiatives to include 'best practice' for near market technologies and would
exploit the physical assets owned by the university system.
3. The management of SME organisations for sustainable improvement as a result of

supplier development activity. This programme would provide direct advice to this
79
important sector and how it can incrementally master the quality, delivery, cost,
design and supply chain capabilities needed to survive and grow in the automotive
industry.
4. With the run down of the M90s programme and range of high quality booklets, it is
important that this gap is filled with practical work books that allow managers to
profile their operations, identify weaknesses and understand the methodologies of
'best practice'. This material is all known to the University system and the
researchers could establish a web-based or published material library for sale/free
issue to the industry. It would be important to provide case material for companies
to understand what happened during the process of research. It should be noted that
this recommendation is one that is difficult to manage because University
researchers are governed and motivated by academic paper writing (RAE
process44) and such publications (whilst of phenomenal value) are not held in high
regard as academic outputs. So either the University materials are written up
professionally by commissioned organisations or the RAE assessment is amended
to include due regard for such dissemination. To avoid additional costs, the DDM
research would recommend the latter course of action.
The four areas identified in this section have broader implications in terms of
'ownership' and 'use' of the research outcomes. It is clear that works concerning the
supply chain would be of benefit to the SMMT IF and the colleges involved with the
Automotive College. The system therefore exists to develop, from grounded research,
the case and teaching materials for the automotive industry and also the
methodologies that would be beneficial for engineers in industry. The importance, for
the DDM research presented here, is how to integrate these works with the proposed
changes to the industry infrastructure (regional Centres of Excellence and the
Automotive Academy concept). This process would require national co-ordination
and as the DTI is the major sponsor (and providing research funds) to the research
councils then it would be sensible for the DTI and research councils to investigate this
issue. The key to resolving and exploiting this new opportunity is how to match the
legitimate career needs of academics with the commercial exploitation of research
works conducted as a result of the funding councils. Failure to reward the academics,
in terms of papers or changes to the RAE system will not motivate the dissemination
of works beyond the initial industrial collaborators. In parallel, failing to 'write up' and
disseminate the findings of the research in non-specialist publications will not
promote the adoption of these innovations by the SMEs in industry.
44
RAE is the abbreviation of the Research Assessment Exercise that provides the university research
quality league ranking. It is one of the most important indicators of 'Value For Money' and the activity
of the research sector.
80
Key British University Research Initiatives: Foresight Vehicle

• 3 Day Car - order fulfilment (Cardiff University, Bath University and ICDP)
• SCIFI - Virtual reality imaging of vehicles (Glasgow School of Art)
• CDF - Government policies and fair dealing over the next 10 years.
• CUPID - Vehicle design for customer satisfaction (Cranfield University)
• PICSOM - Engineering parameters and modelling (Leeds University)
• KMforPBL - knowledge management and project management (Warwick
Business School)
• COGENT - Supplier Development (University of Cranfield)
• CCLPM - Design Verification (University of Bradford)
• PRESCIENT - Reliability Prediction models and Design (University of Cranfield)
• PISCOM - Modelling of Vehicle Handling Processes (University of Leeds)
• INTEGRATE - Integration for Driver Systems (Loughborough University)
• ADAM - Automatic Generation of Design Improvements (University of
Warwick)
• DOUGAL - Whole Vehicle Electrical Design (University of Wales)
• VITAL - Visualisation of the Impact of Tolerance Allocation (University of
Leeds)
• DSFSCA - Systematic Supply Chain Alignment (University of Liverpool)
• LEAP - Lean Process industries (University of Cardiff)
• RESCOVS - Responsive Supply Chains & Commercial Vehicle Sector
(University of Huddersfield)
• SUPPLY CHAIN2001+ - Dynamic Supply Chain Decision Support Systems
(University of Cardiff)
• RADICASL - Laminated HP Dies (DeMontford University)
• COMPAG - Component Based Paradigm for Agile Automation (University of
Loughborough)
• SimFML - Responsive Design and Operation of Flexible Manpower Lines
(University of DeMontford)
• APIP - Accelerated Process Improvements (University of Cardiff)
• KBS-IMPROVE - Maintenance Scheduling Through Knowledge Based
Simulation (University of Warwick)
There are many consultants to the industry (represented by a SMMT committee) and
these organisations could be involved with the dissemination process as could the
professional bodies. More recently, the quality of the EPSRC research has led to a
direct invitation for British Universities to present their work abroad (SAE conference
Detroit USA). The quality of British research is therefore of a good standard. It would
appear that the major obstacle to progress in this field is to extend the research
activities to the manufacturers in the UK supply chain and in the dissemination of
activities (including 'how to engage with the EPSRC/University System').
A recommendation of the DDM team is to combine the road mapping promotion with
a synopsis of the associated research programmes and to disseminate both aspects.
The best way of doing this is to generate a web-based system that would allow UK
manufacturers to enter the site and probe into key programmes and results.
81
Intellectual Property and Commercial Exploitation of Research Initiatives
The issue of the commercialisation of research from the University sector was
explored by John Baker whose report was, presented to the Minister for Science and
Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 1999. His views are contained in the Treasury
paper 'Creating Knowledge Creating Wealth' and his recommendations are pertinent
today. He strongly supported the commercialisation of public-funded research as a
means of disseminating research for the 'public good' and for the altruistic rewards
sought by science-based academics. Baker argueses that the commercialisation of
research is important for both works directly sponsored by government departments
and through the funding councils. In comparative terms the UK system is not as
advanced as the US in 'joined up' exploitation of research.
Baker45 identified the need for the commitment of resources by government,

opportunities to improve research skills, and the need to develop an infrastructure to
support the UK's exploitation of intellectual property (IP). This intangible export
commodity is potentially a high revenue earner for the UK and its automotive sector.
To complete the system, Baker proposed that new incentives need to be developed to
reward staff for such knowledge transfer and that the government should support and
promote 'best practice' knowledge transfer networks. The outputs Baker envisaged
included collaboration with industrial sponsors leading to commercialisation, free
dissemination, consultancy services by public sector bodies, the sale of data, software
development and incentives/support to establish 'spin off' companies. He also
recommended that the public and private sector should engage in the transfer of staff
in and out of the research process. His views have profound significance for the high
quality work conducted by the British Research Universities and the Foresight
Vehicle Programme in particular.
The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)
The RAE is the census of University research that is conducted every five years to
assess the quality of research work. The measure favours the publication of
international journal papers and this bias does not motivate 'career-minded' academics
to necessarily engage in works of practical use to industry. From a review of
academics concerned with industry related research, the RAE exercise was considered
to disadvantage their work in terms of the ability to get the results of such work
published in comparison to large-scale questionnaire surveys which were considered
attractive by academic publishers. It is the recommendation of the DDM team that the
'RAE issue',, should be further investigated to find ways of motivating high quality
yet applied research in the UK and also how best to integrate the truly 'blue sky'
research which can also suffer from an inability to publish results in high-standing
journals.
Summary and Review
The summary findings of the DDM research team reported in this document have
explored a number of dimensions that were identified by the expert interviews
conducted at the early stages of the research. The problem of university-industry
45
The Baker report (1999) can be found on the Treasury web site.
82
interaction concerns access and promotion of the availability of high quality research
for industry. It would appear, that the managers of manufacturing firms perceive that
research is not concerned with real-life and commercial issues. This is not the reality
of work in the University sector and centres, including Warwick, Cranfield,
Loughborough, Aston, Cardiff, Liverpool, and De-Montfort all offer programmes of
applied research with sponsors that is expected to deliver a commercial benefit for
those involved. Many of the research sponsors also provide modest financial support
and pay through 'in kind' support (labour time) so this form of research is neither
beyond the purse of scope of what the automotive industry needs. The potential
benefits of this sort of joint working demand to be promoted at the national level.
It should be noted that many of these research Universities also operate 'Teaching
Company Schemes' which is a system whereby individuals - studying for
postgraduate degrees work at host companies. This programme is definitely under-
utilised by the automotive industry. The TCS system offers placements for both
engineering and management related research students - the majority of whom have
conducted engineering-related degree courses. This aspect of the British University
system requires greater promotion and these 'field' researchers (with direct relations
with University host organisations) should be exploited by SMEs in the automotive
sector. The projects undertaken by TCS fellows should, in the first instance be
concentrated upon engineering, management, design or supply chain issues in order
that all parties to the TCS programme benefit.
In summary, the university sector is becoming increasingly ‘customer focused’ and

the quality of research conducted is in-line with industry needs. Higher Education has
a role to play in the productivity and quality performance improvement needed in
industry and also in the development of the new capabilities (design and supply chain)
required for the continued success of the automotive sector. The biggest problem with
the university system is in ensuring that there is joined up thinking between Business
Schools and Engineering Schools (often within the same institution) allowing
engineering innovations to be rapidly exploited in terms of management
methodologies. The key issue for the universities is one of promotion to industry and
a broader system of collaboration with more automotive firms. In total though, the
UK cannot rely upon piecemeal adjustments to the University system to improve the
productivity, quality and performance of the automotive supply chain. In general
research universities have much to offer the automotive and general industries but
find that the current means of measuring individual and school-level performance
does not promote engagement with industry on industry issues. Certainly, activities
such as Foresight Vehicle are important conduits for such academic-industry
collaboration, but the current system is not exploited in the way that other European
countries work (notably Germany). The evidence from industry, collected by this
study, suggests that there is much untapped benefits that can be exploited from close
working relationships between industry and academia.
To progress this matter in the short term, a dialogue held between the DTI and the
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council46 should be held to discuss this
46
Such a dialogue should include representatives from the Innovative Manufacturing Industry
programme, the EPSRC's DMAP working group (design issues) and the Foresight vehicle Co-
ordinators.
83
issue in greater depth and to propose changes of mutual benefit to academia and
industry.
84
Summary and Review of Issues

The DDM report forms part of the wider AIGT review process. Presented here is a
summary of the findings and some concerning issues that affect the current
performance of the automotive supply and its future capabilities.
The primary issue, which must be resolved in the short term to prevent an erosion of
the UK manufacturing position is the Euro. This will provide enhanced stability for
decision-makers and will go someway to returning profits to the industry. Here it is
important that the UK infrastructure that supports the industry is ready and prepared
to engage in a series of programmes, co-ordinated at the national level by the DTI,
and administered locally by RDAs to the benefit of networks of manufacturing firms.
This process of 'joining up' the support to the industry is vital if real gains in the
engineering and development capabilities of British firms is to be improved. At the
national level, there is a clear need to improve the promotion of the education and
research sectors.
Many of the recommendations that will follow in this report concern how best to
exploit what exists and how to ensure that new initiatives needed to maintain a
vibrant manufacturing base provide ‘value for money’. In short, the issues presented
so far can be summarised as:
1. Stability in management planning (the Euro) and focused investment plans.
2. Supply chain integration and the development of local sources of competitive

advantage for the assemblers and their UK supply bases.
3. The integration of education and professional/trade bodies to promote the

engineering agenda.
4. The management of the automotive sector as a dependent and inter-related 'system'

that requires focused intervention at critical points to release improvements
throughout the chain and for nation-wide promotion of 'best practices' to sustain
improvements in the sector (design, supply chain, environmentalism, process
improvement, TPM etc.).
The next section of this DDM report will, having presented the issues for the
automotive industry, begin to present a considered and justified 'future state' for the
industry. The next section will therefore concentrate upon the institutions,
programmes and initiatives that would combine to support the industry in closing
current gaps and shortages whilst building the capabilities needed for the future.
85

Issue 8: Lean Manufacturing Knowledge & Lean Production Dissemination in The UK

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AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION AND GROWTH TEAM

Issue 8: Lean Manufacturing Knowledge & Lean Production

A recent doctoral study29 looked afresh at the question of differences in productivity

The Comparative Cases

In 1997-1998, three companies were selected to compare lean manufacturing

Selection Criteria of the Case Companies:

The Lean Advantage

Case A was found to have superiority in the following areas of management:

The Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) at the bottleneck operation of Case A

supply chain. Case A is recognised by its Japanese companies as an exemplar British

Lean Dissemination in the UK

SMMT Industry Forum

Given the preceding analysis, an obvious extension of the IF activities include an

The Automotive College

2. The extension in terms of the number of universities involved in the network,

These issues should be investigated by the organisations concerned and a business

The Teaching Company Scheme

The UK has benefited from recent 'Accelerate' improvement programmes operated in

Other Regional Activities

1. An expansion of Industry Forum activities to include those identified earlier in

2. To develop a central body concerned with the development of training materials

4. A product development and programme management support system.

5. A senior-management level 'finishing school' for future generations of business

Life Long Learning

Issue 9: The Synchronised and 'E'nabled Supply Chain

The transforming power of e-business is also reflected in the development of a formal

Most British manufacturers were at the beginning of the e-Business implementation

DTI - ANISA Consulting Study Findings

59% of firms have no 'e-business' strategy a further 4% did not know.

Overall, a staggering 17% of companies had no experience of 'e-business' and the

Issue 10: Skills and Training in the Automotive Industry36

Long-term productivity remains a core objective of the government (DTI/DfEE White

Human Resources Policy and Local Management

Human Resources: Formalisation of Plans

Employee Statistics: Assembler Level

Accessibility to New Recruits

A common perception in manufacturing industry is that there exists a vacuum in

Skills Shortages by Grade of Employee (Assembler Level)

Operational Staff skills shortages included all forms of maintenance technician

Human Resources: The Quality of Training Provision

Local & National Universities

Colleges of Higher Education

Local and Technical Colleges

Local Independent Consultants

Local consultancy companies were rated as good and responsive providers of

In summary, the skills provision is considered to be good in terms of the improvement

The UK System of Skills Provision: Advantages and Disadvantages

Britain Vs. Other Countries

Improvements to the UK System

Flexibility and Mobility of Human Resources

Newly Recruited Workers

Labour Market Laws and Britain

The AIGT Findings: Regional Dialogue Seminars

partnership should be established to attract school leavers into engineering

Generally, the attendees considered the standard of training to be weaker in the UK

Issue 11: The Engineer - Image & The Skills Debate

This argument is further reinforced by the professional recruitment consultancy

What Will Attract Youth to Engineering?