survey

Finished vehicle logistics is of particular importance for the automotive industry, because it is the link between manufacturer and customers. If problems occur during the distribution of a car, it becomes visible to the customer, unless the problems can be solved during the following processes. Process interfaces between companies are frequently causing issues. That is why a survey was executed in order to identify those issues at the interfaces between car manufacturers and logistics service providers.

Over the past years the use of simulation methods for designing production systems in the automotive industry has been enforced. To identify trends and needs for action, an online survey was sent to 181 simulation experts and users in the environment of the VDA workgroup Ablaufsimulation. This paper illustrates the results of the survey and points out development steps that are necessary for simulation in general and for the VDA Toolkit in particular.

The motivation of employees is an essential requirement for operational efficiency, the quality of the production process and the effectiveness of the work force. Therefore the primary objective for a company’s success should be the achievement of a high degree of employment motivation and satis-faction. Nevertheless, a high motivation of employees is not a matter of course. Therefore, we empirically investigate the status quo of employee orientation and motivation of the workforce aiming to identify potential improvements with regard to a better employee orientation. The results are surprising: The majority of employees are dissatisfied with the work tasks, the leadership of the supervisors or the working atmosphere in the company. The consequence: Lower works force motivation and a poor quality of employee performance, even though in the service industries employees are key for delivering quality and results.

Derived from the automotive industry an increasing number of companies - also from other industry sectors - implemented their own Integrated Production System. Relevant aspects concerning the implementation of an Integrated Production System like the motivation, the structure and the implementation strategy, as well as necessary efforts and benefits, were subject of a short survey by the Institute of Production Science (wbk) with chief managers of selected industry partners. This article summarizes the survey results and gives a short outlook to the future trend of Integrated Production Systems.

The presented survey results aim to show an overview about the existing demand volatility and capacity flexibility in German manufacturing companies of the machining industry. Besides the consideration of logistical aspects regarding flexible capacities, cost aspects for accounting impacts of capacity options were taken into account. The result of the survey clarifies that the capacity options in companies seem to be sufficient. The cause of logistical problems due to demand volatility is located in insufficient methods for production monitoring.