How to realize the productivity potentials in the manufacturing industry

Paper in proceeding, 2012

Since 2005, close to 100 PPA (Productivity Potential Assessment) studies have been carried out in the manufacturing industry. The productivity improvement potentials have thus been assessed and measured for a wide variety of companies. The focus of PPA is on the utilization aspect of productivity, however it is not given that utilization has the greatest impact on the productivity. In most cases it is the method factor, i.e. the selected machines or the manual work method that represent the greatest potential. The potential for improvement in manual work methods is especially interesting, since substantial improvements often can be achieved without or with very limited investments. This article outlines a theory for productivity improvement based on the assumption that many small actions can lead to significant improvements. The theory is supported by five examples of productivity improvement potentials and solutions for industrial cases in automotive industry.