Chrysler's digital trailblazer

摘要

Auburn Hills, MI—Engineering drawings dominate the gray walls of the windowless "war room" in Chrysler's mammoth Technical Center. A few depict late changes in the company's Concorde and Intrepid vehicles; a few more display the layout of its Bramelea, Ontario assembly plant. But when Chrysler engineers and executives sit at the war room's long center table, they don't gaze at the drawings. Instead, their attention focuses on a computerized projection screen at one end of the room. There, they can watch the company's redesigned LH vehicles take shape in front of their eyes. Every major LH engineering decision has taken place in front of this screen. Every component— from the tiniest bolt to the largest piece of sheet metal—can be viewed on it. The paper drawings on the walls merely lend occasional visual support.