MANUFACTURING MODERNIZATION: U.S. COMPETITIVENESS IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE Available to Purchase

Since 1980, I have been heavily involved in manufacturing modernization. For much of that time, I ran a consulting business, in General Electric, that concentrated on factory modernization. We served such clients as Boeing, General Dynamics, GTE, Chrysler, and Italtel, the Italian phone company. For Chrysler, we designed “Chrysler Electronic City,” a state‐of‐the‐art factory for the manufacture of automotive electronics. For the last five years, I have been responsible for planning the manufacturing modernization activities of Black & Decker's U.S. Power Tools operations. My objective, in this article, is to share with you some of what I have learned on the subject of manufacturing modernization. In addition, I will suggest an approach to factory modernization.