Low Volume; High Flexibility [automotive industry]

The prime objective of the Low Volume; High Flexibility project run by the International Automotive Research Centre at Warwick Manufacturing Group is to introduce a new approach to the assembly of automotive body panels to produce car bodies, which is known as Body in White (BIW) assembly. Within the automotive industry there is a general move to reduce model life, improve the cost base and reduce time to market for new model introduction. A key factor constraining the West Midlands automotive supply chain is the high tooling cost incurred to introduce new models. The emphasis of this programme is to retain the benefits gained from high volume manufacture of consistent quality and an affordable piece price; but to apply these to low volume models production.