International Automotive Manufacturing Conference and Expo 1999

The SAE International Automotive Manufacturing Conference and Exposition joins with two other events, the Motion Controls Expo and the International Robots and Vision Show, to form "Manufacturing Solution Week" in Detroit the week of May 11^th.

Millennium Manufacturing: "The Extended Enterprise" is the theme for the 1999 SAE International Automotive Manufacturing Conference and Exposition (IAM '99), which refers to the importance of suppliers working as partners with vehicle manufacturers to deliver whole systems and modules JIT to the plant floor.

At the show, manufacturing engineers have the opportunity to learn from examples of lean manufacturing planning and deployment framework. Educational seminars, business panels, and supplier displays help engineers better understand the objectives and challenges facing today's top automotive corporations.

Manufacturing engineers can learn from examples of lean manufacturing planning and deployment framework, including enabling principles to drive customer satisfaction and reduced costs. Topics covered include:

Producing at a pace that meets actual customer demand.

A plenary panel on "Manufacturing Strategies for the Future" moderated by Ron Harbour, president of Harbour & Assoc. Inc., opens the show. This panel, scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 11 in Room D2-08, will discuss techniques and changes on the horizon in manufacturing processes for the "factory of the future."

Also on Tuesday, May 11, beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Room D2-08 is the first of a two-part panel on "Modularity and the Extended Enterprise," moderated by Managing Dir. of Benchmarking Partners John Waraniak. Attendees will hear how the extended enterprise concept and business practices are changing the way auto companies deal with customers, suppliers, and competitors.

Another panel on "Lean Manufacturing: Back to the Basics or New and Improved?" is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12 in Room D2-08. The panel, moderated by Jeff Liker, Dir. of Value Chain Analysis Program Industrial and Operations Engineering for the University of Michigan, will discuss the value of adopting the Toyota Production System (TPS) as compared to developing a "new and improved" version for those just considering lean techniques and philosophies.

For more information on the IAM show please contact SAE International by phone: (724) 772-7131; FAX: (724) 776-0002; or E-mail: [email protected] . You can also visit the Web site at www.sae.org/calendar/gvmtgs.asp.