Intelligent Manufacturing : Reviving U.S. Manufacturing Including Lessons Learned from Delphi Packard Electric and General Motors

The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, is the first international agreement that specifically recognises the potential of older people to contribute to the development of their societies. In monitoring its implementation two key approaches are evident: a qualitative bottom-up participatory approach and an approach that uses quantitative indicators to monitor sustainable progress and policies. With the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, playing a pivotal role in the monitoring of the implementation process, one of its key tasks has been to develop a list of ''indicators of achievement''. This book contains extended and revised versions of policy briefs and background papers that support the implementation monitoring process. The analyses included in these chapters make concrete suggestions towards quantitative indicators, with the aim of assisting national governments in mainstreaming ageing in their policies. The contributors provide an overview of the current situation with respect to population ageing and its consequences and also provide projections for the future. The book also includes the final list of quantitative indicators that arose out of consultations with international experts, related to the four main topics addressed: demography, income and wealth, labour market participation, and social protection and financial sustainability.

In 1791, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton wrote that "not only the wealth, but the independence and security of a country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufacturers." Centuries later, U.S. manufacturing jobs continue to be outsourced at an all-too-rapid pace. Examining the current U.S. manufacturing environment, including the unsustainable trade imbalance, Intelligent Manufacturing: Reviving U.S. Manufacturing Including Lessons Learned from Delphi Packard Electric and General Motors outlines concrete suggestions that can help to stop the outflow of manufacturing jobs and prosperity from our shores. The book explains why most companies have not reaped the benefits promised from the implementation of the multitude of methodologies that have inundated manufacturers and outlines the steps companies can take to reverse this trend. The author''s 30-year background in engineering and manufacturing, in both national and international assignments, puts him in a unique position to supply insights on foreign competition that few are able to provide. In addition to discussing the tools and concepts with a proven history of success, the book also elaborates on what doesn‘t work. It presents an insider‘s perspective of what went horribly wrong within Delphi and GM so other manufacturing companies can avoid making the same mistakes.The book describes how to effectively set up a manufacturing system and accurately measure and control direct labor. It shares easy-to-implement tools that the author developed and implemented with proven track records for improving performance. Such tools include computer programs that can provide a competitive advantage, a proven way to reduce total process cycle time, and a scientific way to establish proper lot sizes.Instead of presenting a lot of theory, the author provides ideas based on common sense and practical experience. The concepts and tools outline