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Tracking Industry Operations Activity: A Case Study of US Automotive Manufacturing
Published
Author(s)
Douglas Thomas, Anand M. Kandaswamy
Abstract
Private firms, driven by competition, frequently achieve advances in efficiency on their own accord; however, there are often barriers to advancement that surpass the ability of any single firm. Additionally, competition, lack of communication, and other factors can prevent the collaborative efforts necessary to overcome such barriers. It is in these types of situations that publicly-funded research efforts are often necessary for advancing industry efficiency. Unfortunately, there are numerous factors affecting efficiency and only a limited number of them can be identified. The result is that researchers must examine areas of manufacturing that consume high levels of resources in order to identify change agent efforts that have a high return on investment. To identify high resource areas it is necessary to have an inventory and model of resource consumption. This report identifies data on manufacturing activity and provides a model for tracking operations activity. The method is then illustrated in the automotive manufacturing industry.
Thomas, D.
and Kandaswamy, A.
(2015),
Tracking Industry Operations Activity: A Case Study of US Automotive Manufacturing, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1601
(Accessed March 17, 2025)