Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - (Page GM-4) INNOVATION Embracing new ideas on the plant floor helped fuel GM's success. By Austin Weber, Senior Editor eneral Motors experienced phenomenal growth during its formative years. Through a series of various strategic acquisitions and shrewd busii i iii d h db i ness moves, the company quickly became the largest automaker in the world. For most of the 20th century, GM ranked as the world’s largest enterprise. By the mid-1940s, GM accounted for 44 percent of U.S. automotive sales, compared to 12 percent in 1921. In 1956, GM became the first corporation to report annual net profit of more than $1 billion. At the time, it controlled more than 50 percent of the U.S. market. General Motors grew into an industry behemoth through strategic acquisitions, savvy marketing and financial wizardry. The company thrived on a decentralized decisionmaking structure that was supported by systematically gathered data. However, GM’s innovative manufacturing strategy also deserves equal credit, especially when it comes to exploiting the economies of common, interchangeable parts and components. “Although the marketing strategy [of annual model changes] stands out in the popular mind, only the manufacturing behind it made the marketing shift possible,” notes Daniel Raff, associate professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business (Philadelphia). “Production plans to minimize costs were a central part of the strategy . . . and they provided the practical Manufacturing G By using flexible automation tools and techniques, Chevrolet production increased dramatically during the 1920s. GM - 4 | ASSEMBLY/July 2008 | www.assemblymag.com http://www.assemblymag.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Assembly Planbook - July 2008 Assembly Planbook - July 2008 Contents Editorial Quality in Assembly Station to Station Assembly Lines Assembly in Action Surviving the Roller Coaster The Human Side of Manufacturing Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? Manufacturing Innovation A Century of Progress Trendsetting Plants Pulse Tools Get Smart Plastics: Design for X Product Reviews Products Advertisers Index Classified Leading Lean Assembly Planbook - July 2008 Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Planbook - July 2008 (Page Cover1) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Planbook - July 2008 (Page Cover2) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Planbook - July 2008 (Page 1) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Contents (Page 2) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Editorial (Page 6) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Editorial (Page 7) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Quality in Assembly (Page 8) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Quality in Assembly (Page 9) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Station to Station (Page 10) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Station to Station (Page 11) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Lines (Page 12) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Lines (Page 13) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Lines (Page 14) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Lines (Page 15) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Lines (Page 16) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly Lines (Page 17) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly in Action (Page 18) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly in Action (Page 19) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly in Action (Page 20) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly in Action (Page 21) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly in Action (Page 22) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Assembly in Action (Page 23) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 24) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 25) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 26) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 27) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 28) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 29) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 30) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 31) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 32) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 33) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 34) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 35) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 36) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 37) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 38) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Surviving the Roller Coaster (Page 39) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - The Human Side of Manufacturing (Page 40) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - The Human Side of Manufacturing (Page 41) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - The Human Side of Manufacturing (Page 42) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - The Human Side of Manufacturing (Page 43) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page 44) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page 45) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page 46) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page 47) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page 48) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page GM-1) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page GM-2) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Do Your Fasteners Need a Preapplied Thread-Locker? (Page GM-3) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-4) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-5) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-6) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-7) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-8) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-9) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-10) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-11) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-12) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Manufacturing Innovation (Page GM-13) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - A Century of Progress (Page GM-14) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - A Century of Progress (Page GM-15) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - A Century of Progress (Page GM-16) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - A Century of Progress (Page GM-17) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page GM-18) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page GM-19) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page GM-20) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page GM-21) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page GM-22) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page GM-23) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page 72) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Trendsetting Plants (Page 73) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Pulse Tools Get Smart (Page 74) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Pulse Tools Get Smart (Page 75) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Pulse Tools Get Smart (Page 76) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Pulse Tools Get Smart (Page 77) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Pulse Tools Get Smart (Page 78) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Pulse Tools Get Smart (Page 79) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Plastics: Design for X (Page 80) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Plastics: Design for X (Page 81) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Plastics: Design for X (Page 82) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Plastics: Design for X (Page 83) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Plastics: Design for X (Page 84) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Plastics: Design for X (Page 85) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 86) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 87) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 88) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 89) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 90) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 91) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 92) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Product Reviews (Page 93) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 94) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 95) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 96) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 97) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 98) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 99) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 100) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Products (Page 101) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Advertisers Index (Page 102) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Classified (Page 103) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Leading Lean (Page 104) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Leading Lean (Page Cover3) Assembly Planbook - July 2008 - Leading Lean (Page Cover4)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.