I ndustrial work in Germany: opportunities and potential for an innovative work policy

Το άρθρο αναφέρεται στις μακροχρόνιες απόπειρες αναδιοργάνωσης των γερμανικών επιχειρήσεων και προσαρμογής στο νέο, εξαιρετικά ανταγωνιστικό, περιβάλλον της παγκοσμιοποίησης. Οι διάφορες οικονομικές, κοινωνικές και εργασιακές στρατηγικές, που αναπτύχθηκαν σ΄ αυτό το πλαίσιο είχαν συχνά είχαν ως σημείο εκκίνησης την αυτοκινητοβιομηχανία. Το πρόγραμμα “AUTO 5000” της Volkswagen το οποίο αναλύεται σ’ αυτό το άρθρο και βασίζεται στα εμπειρικά στοιχεία που συνέλεξε το SOFI , αποτελεί χαρακτηριστικό παράδειγμα καλής πρακτικής για μια σύγχρονη “win-win” διέξοδο με όφελος τόσο για τους εργοδότες όσο και για τους εργαζόμενους. Το άρθρο υποστηρίζει ότι αυτή η παραγωγική- βιομηχανική αναδιάρθρωση συνδυάστηκε μια καινοτόμα εργασιακή πολιτική με την οποία η θέση των εργαζομένων βελτιώνεται στο πλαίσιο του καπιταλιστικού παραγωγικού συστήματος.The paper focuses on the long- lasting initiatives aimed at the restructuring of German industries and their adjustment to the new highly competitive globalized environment. The automotive industry has been used on various occasions for the development of economic, social and industrial strategies. The paper focuses in particular on the Volkswagen “AUTO 5000” programme and the empirical data collected by SOFI. “AUTO 5000” constitutes a best practice example, providing a win-win solution for both employers and employees. The paper claims that this productive-industrial restructuring was combined with an innovative employment policy which ultimately improves workers’ position within the new capitalist production system

A Comparison of the Level of Maturity of Manufacturers in the Lake Land College School District in Lean Manufacturing Techniques as Compared to Goodson\u27s Survey Data

The purpose of this study was to determine if manufacturers in the Lake Land College School District have implemented Lean Manufacturing techniques and score as high as the manufacturers in Goodson\u27s Michigan study. Lean Manufacturing techniques have revolutionized the auto industry, with the Toyota Production system the benchmark in Lean Manufacturing techniques. A survey using Goodson\u27s Rapid Plant Assessment compares the level of maturity in the utilization of the Lean Manufacturing techniques with the manufacturers in the Lake Land College School District and Goodson\u27s survey of manufacturers in Michigan. The mean score of 57.67 for the manufacturers in the Lake Land College School District was slightly higher than Goodson\u27s mean score of 55, but not a statistically significant difference

PQCDSM-Logic in Maintenance (TPM) and Mountaineering

TPM is the foundation for JIT (Just in Time) and Lean Manufacturing and forms the basis of JIT or on-time delivery. The goal of TPM is to improve equipment effectiveness and optimize equipment performance, namely PQCDSM (Productivity, Quality, Cost and Delivery, Safety and health, environment, and Morale). Many producers have tried to transform their production system to a JIT or Lean production system with the aim of increasing productivity and quality, but thus far with little success. This contribution shows how trekking and climbing tours can be used to illustrate the application of PQCDSM-Logic in mountaineering and how this can be transferred to logistics and maintenance practice. The background is the author\u27s decades of experience with expeditions, trekking and climbing tours, TPM implementations and interviews with numerous experts. There are many similarities between the application of PQCDSM-Logic in mountaineering and in logistics and maintenance practice, which will help both in operational practice in industry and in high mountain tours, especially regarding safety in a changing environment. Presented is the extrapolation from mountain climbing to TPM and the importance of leadership for a successful (summit climbs and the like) transformation of the production system to a JIT or Lean production system

Characteristics of the European automotive system: Is there a distinctive European approach?

The paper discusses pro and cons concerning the hypothesis of a distinctive European approach regarding its automotive system. Its aim is to develop an international comparison of the structural changes in the international automo-tive industry. A special focus is laid on the ways of coordinating competencies and knowledge. What are the differences that set the European industry apart from its North American and Japanese competitors in this regard? The paper discusses EU market characteristics and particularities of the European de-mand structures, the history of specific European approaches in the area of production systems and new forms of work and the recent changes of supplier relations since the 1990s. The analysis shows that the approach taken in the course of the restructuring of the supplier industry in Europe led to the devel-opment of specific capabilities related to cross company and interorganisational cooperation in the 1990s which partially explains the successful development of the European auto industry in recent time. -- Das Paper diskutiert das Für und Wider der Hypothese eines besonderen euro-päischen Entwicklungsweges in der Automobilindustrie. Ziel ist, die gegenwärti-gen Umstrukturierungen dieser Industrien mit einer international vergleichenden Perspektive zu erfassen. Im Zentrum steht die Frage nach der Koordination von Kompetenzen und Wissen: Welche Unterschiede lassen sich hier im Vergleich der europäischen Industrie mit der in Nordamerika und Japan feststellen? Die Untersuchung zeigt, dass insbesondere hinsichtlich der Reorganisation der Zu-lieferbeziehungen ein besonderer europäischer Ansatz entwickelt wurde, der zur Herausbildung spezifischer Formen der unternehmensübergreifenden und interorganisationalen Kooperation geführt hat. Die damit verbundenen Lernpro-zesse haben zu spezifisch europäischen Konzepten und Kompetenzen geführt, die wesentlich zu der relativ erfolgreichen Entwicklung des Automobilsektors in Europa in den vergangenen Jahren beigetragen haben.