<p>Functionality in the automotive industry is becoming more complex, withcomplex communication networks between control systems. Information isshared among many control systems and extensive testing ensures high quality.</p><p>Degradations testing, that has the objective to test functionality with some faultpresent, is performed on single control systems, but is not frequently performed on the entire electrical system. There is a wish for testing degradation automatically on the complete electrical system in a so called Hardware-In-the-Loop laboratory.</p><p>A technique is needed to perform these tests on a regular basis.Problems with testing degradation in complex communication systems will bedescribed. Methods and solutions to tackle these problems are suggested, thatfinally end up with two independent test strategies. One strategy is suited to test degradation on new functionality. The other strategy is to investigate effects in the entire electrical system. Both strategies have been implemented in a Hardware-In-the-Loop laboratory and evaluated.</p>

Over the past two decades, the open-door of the market supply in China has had a massive impact on the automotive market. This development contributes to the globalization of the automobile industry that involved the integration of the Chinese domestic market into the international markets. Among many reasons, motivation to gain access to industrialized markets and to gain access to superior technology, management resources and knowledge are the most driving factors of the Chinese automotive industry for the internationalization and going abroad strategy of China´s automotive industry. This study investigated whether different external globalization drivers and internal organization factors have differential effects on various dimensions of China´s automakers firms’ global strategy. Most of the studies written about global strategies have implemented only either of the internal or the external drivers of the internationalization of the firms. The contribution of the paper introduces a more comprehensive model on the global expansion of a firm. This paper concludes that China´s automotive industry has some competitive advantages such as low cost, while, facing a number of challenges that hinder the internationalization of Chinese automobile companies. It also shows that multiple factors play an important role in firms' internationalization global strategy plan. It is thus essential that the interaction among independent variables is considered in the determination of global expansion strategy. This paper suggests that in comparative application of China´s economy of internationalization process to most of other industries in the emerging markets, they have similar development strategies and profiles due to the similar enterprise organizational mode and industrial environment. Therefore, most of the factors discussed in this paper can also apply to many industries in other emerging markets that are seeking for internationalization by creating a competitive global expansion strategy.

The car exhibition in Beijing in 2006, many multinational companies design car style for the Chinese customers. Why would the multinational company yield in the Chinese market? Why the multinational companies just enter the Chinese market after China joins the world trade organization? How the Chinese government manages these multinational automobile companies in China? How does the Chinese government draft the competition strategy of the automobile industry? What influence the multinational company will cause to the automotive industry of China? The conclusion of this paper is the multinational companies strengthen the control to the joint venture in the ownership, organization and the technique transfer. Chinese government uses protectionism; prop up the large automobile enterprise.

The purposes of this thesis are probing into the joint venture of China¡¦s automobile industry, because I am studying on why the development of China¡¦s automobile industry is many differences. The result of the research can help me to understand the transition in Chinese automobile industry from 1994 to 2004 and can the joint-venture policy give Chinese automobile industry any help. And then how Chinese automobile industry utilize opportunities and avoid threat by inference. No matter Taiwan, China or the western scholar analyse Chinese automobile industry by one side. Hence, this research will analyse the relationships among supply, demand and government policy in the joint-venture policy of the Chinese automobile industry. In the meanwhile, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages that the joint-venture policy brought with the role of China, and then find the reason the obstacle takes place in the development of Chinese automobile industry. The conclusion of this paper is because of the central government¡¦s and local governments¡¦ goals are inconsistent, let multinational enterprise break up Chinese motor corporation one by one in the negotiation of cooperation. This is the reason that Chinese automobile industry and market preferrence are inconsistent now.

The promulgation of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995, will transform the way in which learning is designed, developed, implemented, managed, assessed and evaluated. Many different organisations, institutions, industries and sectors understand the guiding principles and concepts of this Act but are grappling with all the forces and factors that impact and influence the implementation of the Act. The Act introduces the National Qualifications Framework, which will impact on learning and present many challenges and opportunities for education and training and development practitioners in South Africa. Because of the newness of this Act, many organisations, institutions, industries and sectors are in the process of waiting until all the relevant South African Qualifications Authority structures are in place before embarking upon some sort of action. Traditionally, most learning has been 'inputs' based (course content, course duration, course entrance requirements and course methodology). The South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995, will refocus learning to 'outputs' (outcomes), with a fundamental shift in thinking about the way in which learning is designed, developed, implemented, assessed and evaluated. This shift may be described as "it does not matter where, when or how one learns, but what one learns, why one learns and if one has learnt". The South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995, will also transform learning organisations in the way they plan and do things. The seven automobile manufacturers, together with the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA), are challenged with these paradigm shifts. This dissertation was therefore concerned with these central issues in 'operationalising' the principles and concepts of the National Qualifications Framework within the automobile industry. The study revealed that most of the organisations in the automobile industry: • Are not well enough informed about the latest developments of the South African Qualifications Authority; • Do not necessarily have access to current, relevant and reliable information about the National Qualifications Framework; • Are all dedicated to uplifting the knowledge, skills and abilities of their staff through their 'multi-skilling model' for education and training and development; and • Support the underlying principles and concepts of the National Qualifications Framework. The automobile industry is therefore presented with many challenges and opportunities for the provision of education, training and development. Some challenges and opportunities for the automobile industry are: • The need to refocus education and training and development programmes/projects to ensure national alignment and international comparability; • The need to develop education, training and development staff in line with the 10 education, training and development practitioner roles; • The need to keep abreast with national initiatives impacting education and training and development. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1998.

To make profits in such a world, unit costs must be reduced to the minimum possible and consistent with acceptable quality. To do this firms are endeavouring to combine lean production with the maximisation of economies of scale, that is, to achieve the lowest possible long run average cost curve and the lowest point on that curve. The process of consolidation and globalisation can be seen as driven by the latter whilst initiatives such as internet procurement, tendering, and production systems, the former. The automotive industry of the early 21st century, barely one hundred years old, reaches into the lives of almost everybody on the planet. The business of making these vehicles is the largest manufacturing sector in the world, a core part of the leading industrial nations and of growing significance elsewhere. The automotive industry is huge by almost any measure, complex, and always rapidly changing. In recent years the environmental consequences of auto mobility have thrust the industry into the heart of the debate over wealth generation and sustainability. "An industry's key success factors are those things that most affect the industry members ability to prosper in the marketplace - the particular strategy elements, product attributes, resources, competencies, competitive capabilities, and business outcomes that spell the difference between profit and loss, and ultimately between competitiveness and failure" (Thompson and Strickland:2003). This paper examines the future strategic focus that a local South African automotive firm ought to adopt to ensure competitive success in the harsh global auto industry. Smiths Manufacturing is on its way to becoming a world class company, limited in terms of local market size and firm infrastructure, yet astute in terms of systems, products and technology. Although Smiths is currently experiencing success and plans for short term growth, indications are that the whole strategic focus is being diminished in retaining its competitiveness in lieu of expansion and operations. Throughout this research thesis it will be observed that Smiths is competitive, but its competitive advantage is not increasing relatively. Smiths has to do something unique, and this unique competitive differential advantage can be induced on the soft side, i.e. Smith's social capital-people. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Background: The automotive industry accounts for a large part of the European economic structure. Due to both economical and environmental impacts, the industry has undergone substantial changes and companies have to increase their efficiency to stay competitive. An improvement-area, which can be directly influenced by the company is the internal material handling. A new technology that potentially supports the internal material handling process is the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is perceived as a fruitful successor of the common barcoding technology. Even though the RFID technology shows multiple benefits over the barcoding technology, many companies are still reluctant to the application of the new method. The authors therefore strive to provide a deeper understanding of the following two research questions:   RQ 1: To what extent and how is RFID currently applied in the internal material handling process in the investigated automotive companies? RQ 2: For what reasons did the investigated automotive companies decide to apply or not apply RFID technologies to support their internal material handling process?   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to show through a multiple case study to what extent and how RFID technology is currently applied to support the internal material handling process in a number of companies in the automotive sector, both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers. Thereupon the main reasons for or against the application of RFID in these companies are examined.   Method: This thesis adopts a positivistic perspective and a deductive approach. It is designed as a qualitative multiple case study carried out in four different companies with five different plants in the automotive industry. Empirical data was gathered through interviews. The analysis is based on primary as well as secondary data.   Conclusions: Throughout the course of the study it became apparent that the RFID technology is on the radar of all investigated companies. Only Scania Zwolle, Volvo Skövde and Bosch Homburg apply the technology and see concrete benefits in the usage of RFID above barcoding. The extent of application here differs from a large scale to a small scale. The three companies name benefits such as an improved automatic tracking &amp; tracing system with improved real-time data quality and a reduction in costs, which is mainly achieved through a reduction of manual labour. Additionally they face benefits, which are business-specific such as the possibility for automatic alerts throughout the internal material handling process at Scania Zwolle, the need for a ‘silent’ successor over barcoding at Volvo Skövde and a supporting tool for their lean management program at Bosch Homburg. VDL Nedcar Born and Scania Oskarshamn in turn name concrete reasons for not applying the technology. VDL Nedcar Born is undergoing substantial changes in their production facility which currently has priority and Scania Oskarshamn does not see benefits that outweigh the high costs for the RFID technology.

Este estudo propõe um método de avaliação de desempenho de práticas típicas da produção enxuta em indústrias de manufatura. As práticas utilizadas no método proposto são práticas enxutas operacionais (por exemplo, gerenciamento visual e troca rápida de ferramentas), diferentemente de estudos anteriores que focavam principalmente em práticas enxutas gerenciais. O método foi desenvolvido e testado em um estudo de caso realizado em uma empresa fabricante de juntas homocinéticas. Essa empresa vem adotando a produção enxuta (PE) como estratégia de produção em nível corporativo desde 2002. O método é composto de oito etapas: (a) uma avaliação da sua aplicabilidade, a qual implica em verificar se os objetivos das estratégias de manufatura podem ser atingidos através da produção enxuta; (b) uma avaliação preliminar do quanto a cultura organizacional é consistente com os princípios da produção enxuta – essa avaliação é feita através da aplicação de um checklist baseado em requisitos estabelecidos pelas Normas SAE J4000 e J4001; (c) entrevistas com gerentes para verificar suas percepções sobre os pontos fortes e fracos na implementação da produção enxuta – nesse estudo de caso, sete gerentes foram entrevistados: (d) aplicação de um checklist para avaliar o desempenho de um grupo de práticas enxutas, baseado na percepção de gerentes – nesse estudo de caso, sete gerentes preencheram o checklist e a média de desempenho de cada prática enxuta foi calculada; (e) o desenvolvimento de um ranking para avaliar a importância de práticas enxutas, baseadas na percepção de alguns gerentes envolvidos na etapa anterior; (f) seleção de indicadores de desempenho que possam quantificar indiretamente o desempenho de práticas enxutas, considerando os indicadores utilizados na empresa e indicadores utilizados em estudos anteriores; (g) coleta de dados referentes aos indicadores selecionados na etapa anterior ; (h) seminário para discutir os resultados coletados em todas as etapas anteriores. Os passos (g) e (h) não foram aplicados nesse estudo de caso. De forma geral, os resultados demonstraram que práticas enxutas fortemente associadas com a estabilidade básica, tais como a padronização, apresentaram desempenho fraco. / This study presents a method for assessing the performance of typical lean production practices in manufacturing industry. The practices encompassed by the proposed method are related to operational lean practices (e.g. visual management and single minute exchange of dies and tools), differently from previous similar studies that focused mostly on managerial lean practices. The method was developed and tested in a case study undertaken in a manufacturer of automobile axiles. This company has been adopting lean production as its manufacturing strategy since 2002. The method involves eight stages: (a) an assessment of its applicability, which implies checking whether the manufacturing strategy targets might be achieved through lean production; (b) a preliminary assessment of the extent to which the organizational culture is consistent with lean production principles – this assessment is made through the application of a check-list based on the requirements established by SAE J4000 and J4001 standards; (c) interviews with managers to identify their perceptions on strenghts and weaknesses of lean production implementation – in the case study, seven managers were interviewed; (d) application of a check-list to assess the performance of a set of lean practices based on managers perceptions – in the case study, seven managers filled out the check-list and an average degree of performance for each lean practice was then calculated; (e) the development of a ranking to assess the importance of lean practices, based on the perceptions of some of the same managers involved in the previous stages; (f) selection of performance indicators that could indirectly quantify the performance of lean practices, considering both the existing indicators in the company and existing indicators proposed in previous studies; (g) data gathering concerning results of the selected indicators; (h) a seminar to discuss the data collected during all the previous stages. Stages (g) and (h) were not carried out in the case study. Overall, the results pointed out that lean practices that are closely associated with basic stability, such as standardization, performed poorly.

A responsividade aglutina princípios calcados em produtividade, flexibilidade e uso intensivo de tecnologia, capacitando empresas de manufatura a lidar com incertezas e operar de forma rentável no mercado globalizado. A manufatura busca na responsividade meios para sobreviver e crescer num ambiente de contínua mudança e incerteza, norteado pela concorrência global, exigências crescentes dos consumidores e avanço da tecnologia. O ciclo de expansão da indústria ainda tem fôlego para crescimento. O setor automotivo tem participação considerável na economia e gera efeito em cadeia na atividade industrial mundial. A indústria automotiva historicamente é uma precursora na reformulação de estratégias e no aprimoramento da eficácia operacional, através da adoção de tecnologias cada vez mais flexíveis e adaptáveis às oscilações do mercado competitivo. Este setor é um dos mais importantes do Rio Grande do Sul e do Brasil e sua dinâmica impõe condições responsivas às empresas. Ao assumirmos que a responsividade é o fator chave para alcançar e manter a vantagem competitiva no ambiente de manufatura, verificar como ela é utilizada, principalmente em empresas do setor automotivo, torna-se uma importante questão a ser tratada. O objetivo da pesquisa é analisar o conjunto de dimensões que representam a responsividade nas empresas de manufatura do setor automotivo. A pesquisa é qualitativa descritiva e aplicou o método de estudo de caso, através de uma investigação de casos múltiplos, realizada em quatro empresas com representatividade na cadeia automotiva do Rio Grande do Sul. A pesquisa utilizou como fontes de evidências: entrevistas, observações diretas e análise de documentos. Nas entrevistas, por se tratarem de perguntas abertas, foi utilizada a técnica de análise de conteúdo. As observações diretas, assim como a análise de documentos, ajudaram a complementar as informações obtidas nas entrevistas. Para interpretação do material obtido, foi utilizada a técnica de triangulação de dados. Inicialmente, cada empresa foi analisada individualmente, e depois houve a comparação dos casos para verificar similaridades ou diferenças para posterior produção de resultados mais confiáveis e generalizáveis. Através dos casos estudados constata-se que, apesar das diferenças de porte, nicho de atuação, valores e qualificação, entre outros, as empresas de manufatura do setor automotivo se valem de princípios comuns que resultam em ações e práticas responsivas. / The responsiveness merges principles based on productivity, flexibility and intensive use of technology, enabling manufacturing companies to deal with uncertainties and operate profitable in the global market. The manufacturing identifies in responsiveness ways to survive and grow in an environment of continuous change and uncertainty, guided by global competition, increasing on consumer demands and technology dissemination. The industry expansion cycle has yet impetus for growth. The automotive sector has considerable involvement in the economy and generates a chain effect on the global industrial activity. Historically, the automotive industry is a pioneer in strategies reformulation and operational efficiency improvement, through adoption of technologies more flexible and adaptable to fluctuations in competitive market. This sector is one of the most important for the Brazilian state, Rio Grande do Sul, and its dynamics imposes responsive conditions to the companies. We believe that the responsiveness is the key factor to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage in the manufacturing environment, therefore identify how it is used, mainly in automotive sector companies, is an important issue to be addressed. The objective of the present research is to analyze the set of dimensions that represent the responsiveness in manufacturing companies in the automotive industry. The qualitative descriptive research had used the “case study method” through a multiple-case study investigation, applied to four important companies of the Rio Grande do Sul automotive supply chain. This research used as evidence sources: semi-structured interviews, direct observation and documentation analysis. Open questions were applied in the interviews and the “content analysis technique” to support the interpretation. The direct observations, as well as the document analysis, helped to supplement information obtained in interviews. The data triangulation technique was used for material interpretation. Initially, each company was examined individually, and then the cases comparison to check similarities or differences to obtain more reliable and generalized results. Despite differences in organization size, performance niche, values and skills and others, the studies proved that manufacturing companies in the automotive sector have use common principles which result in responsive actions and practices.

Este estudo propõe um método de avaliação de desempenho de práticas típicas da produção enxuta em indústrias de manufatura. As práticas utilizadas no método proposto são práticas enxutas operacionais (por exemplo, gerenciamento visual e troca rápida de ferramentas), diferentemente de estudos anteriores que focavam principalmente em práticas enxutas gerenciais. O método foi desenvolvido e testado em um estudo de caso realizado em uma empresa fabricante de juntas homocinéticas. Essa empresa vem adotando a produção enxuta (PE) como estratégia de produção em nível corporativo desde 2002. O método é composto de oito etapas: (a) uma avaliação da sua aplicabilidade, a qual implica em verificar se os objetivos das estratégias de manufatura podem ser atingidos através da produção enxuta; (b) uma avaliação preliminar do quanto a cultura organizacional é consistente com os princípios da produção enxuta – essa avaliação é feita através da aplicação de um checklist baseado em requisitos estabelecidos pelas Normas SAE J4000 e J4001; (c) entrevistas com gerentes para verificar suas percepções sobre os pontos fortes e fracos na implementação da produção enxuta – nesse estudo de caso, sete gerentes foram entrevistados: (d) aplicação de um checklist para avaliar o desempenho de um grupo de práticas enxutas, baseado na percepção de gerentes – nesse estudo de caso, sete gerentes preencheram o checklist e a média de desempenho de cada prática enxuta foi calculada; (e) o desenvolvimento de um ranking para avaliar a importância de práticas enxutas, baseadas na percepção de alguns gerentes envolvidos na etapa anterior; (f) seleção de indicadores de desempenho que possam quantificar indiretamente o desempenho de práticas enxutas, considerando os indicadores utilizados na empresa e indicadores utilizados em estudos anteriores; (g) coleta de dados referentes aos indicadores selecionados na etapa anterior ; (h) seminário para discutir os resultados coletados em todas as etapas anteriores. Os passos (g) e (h) não foram aplicados nesse estudo de caso. De forma geral, os resultados demonstraram que práticas enxutas fortemente associadas com a estabilidade básica, tais como a padronização, apresentaram desempenho fraco. / This study presents a method for assessing the performance of typical lean production practices in manufacturing industry. The practices encompassed by the proposed method are related to operational lean practices (e.g. visual management and single minute exchange of dies and tools), differently from previous similar studies that focused mostly on managerial lean practices. The method was developed and tested in a case study undertaken in a manufacturer of automobile axiles. This company has been adopting lean production as its manufacturing strategy since 2002. The method involves eight stages: (a) an assessment of its applicability, which implies checking whether the manufacturing strategy targets might be achieved through lean production; (b) a preliminary assessment of the extent to which the organizational culture is consistent with lean production principles – this assessment is made through the application of a check-list based on the requirements established by SAE J4000 and J4001 standards; (c) interviews with managers to identify their perceptions on strenghts and weaknesses of lean production implementation – in the case study, seven managers were interviewed; (d) application of a check-list to assess the performance of a set of lean practices based on managers perceptions – in the case study, seven managers filled out the check-list and an average degree of performance for each lean practice was then calculated; (e) the development of a ranking to assess the importance of lean practices, based on the perceptions of some of the same managers involved in the previous stages; (f) selection of performance indicators that could indirectly quantify the performance of lean practices, considering both the existing indicators in the company and existing indicators proposed in previous studies; (g) data gathering concerning results of the selected indicators; (h) a seminar to discuss the data collected during all the previous stages. Stages (g) and (h) were not carried out in the case study. Overall, the results pointed out that lean practices that are closely associated with basic stability, such as standardization, performed poorly.