Conditions for the Introduction of Group Technology

Summary

The merits of Group Technology for batch manufacturing situations have been amply demonstrated by previous authors. However, it is evident that certain industrial environments are more suitable for group production than others. The present work identifies a number of circumstances advantageous to group manufacture and indicates how some of these conditions may be obtained when initially absent.

The paper shows that the company environment must be considered in its entirety before group technology can be successfully established. Such diverse factors as labour rates, capital equipment, inspection requirements, labour flexibility and even component weight must be duly considered before a satisfactory production system can be finalised.