The Three-Day Car Project
The car industry is becoming more responsive to customer needs through adopting 'lean' principles at all levels of car production, from manufacturers, suppliers, to dealers, Her Majesty heard from Cardiff Business School Researchers.
The is a £1.3 million project sponsored by 21 businesses, including Ford motor company which was represented at the royal visit by Geoff Carr. He was asked by Her Majesty how difficult it was to implement the principles of lean enterprise. He said that the concept had presented challenges to internal thinking within the industry, but in the long term it would make the industry more efficient and responsive to customer needs.
Professor Dan Jones, Director of the Lean Enterprise Unit, said that The Duke of Edinburgh was 'very clued up' on the environmental impact of such a project. "While the concept of a Three Day Car is great for the customer, he raised the point that wouldn't people just drive them straight into traffic queues? That took us on to recycling and a future aspect of our research which will address the end of car life and the disassembly process."