Master class

Abstract

The three giants of Japanese carmaking, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda, have each sent two senior shopfloor engineers on a two-year secondment to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' Industry Forum. They have been joined by one each from General Motors and Volkswagen: eight `master engineers' in all. The aim of the Industry Forum project is that the master engineers should pass on to the British motor industry some of the secrets of productivity, quality and competitiveness that the world's top carmakers look for from component suppliers. Its success is such that the motor industry bodies in other countries are starting to take note.