In the late 1990s the continued economic expansion in the U.S. created an environment for unprecedented increases in quality expectations from foundry customers. The increase in quality system-certified companies has not, in and of itself led to enough quality improvement to meet this demand. This paper explores the response of the shop floor, beyond certification, to the challenges of the marketplace of 2000 and beyond. Four broad categories of need on the shop floor are addressed. These include shop floor organization and management, the need for improved utilization of limited human resources, communication of financial issues on the floor and process engineering improvement. Improvement approaches that have fallen out of widespread use are considered, with a discussion of what changes have resulted in the shift.
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