03 Keele Management School News
Putting theory into context on a visit to Jaguar Land Rover
( Article written by Richard Staunton , MA International Business , and Bethany Edge , MA Management )
Last November we were very fortunate to be invited on a trip to Jaguar Land Rover in Halewood , Merseyside to see what it is like within a large-scale manufacturing organisation . It contextualised many of the theories that we had studied in our modules , such as critical management , and operations and supply management , and offered a chance to reflect on their accuracy and applicability . The trip allowed us to see what life is like for workers within a well-oiled manufacturing plant where Tayloristic methods have been combined with the Japanese kaizen approach .
Halewood Factory
Every 80 seconds a world-class bespoke vehicle rolls off the production line at the Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing plant in Halewood , 24 hours a day , 7 days a week . This 300 acre site has been incredibly successful with the workforce trebling in volume since 2010 . A £ 500 million investment in new infrastructure and machinery has seen production rates soar , but due to the enormous demand for these vehicles , there are still lengthy waits before customers can receive delivery of their own customised Range Rover Evoque , Evoque Convertible or Land Rover Discovery Sport .
Following on from a brief introduction to the Tata-owned company , we were taken on a tour of the factory as the basic manufacturing process and integral operations systems were explained to us . We were all fascinated by the fact that a sheet of steel can be transformed into a world-class automobile within only 48 hours . Having donned the obligatory high-visibility vests and earplugs , we were guided through several miles of the industrial process where 4,200 employees work with 800 robots , around the clock , to produce vehicles of the very highest calibre . Whilst most of us have seen pneumatic production line robots on TV , standing in the middle of the body shop , which is the size of 22 football pitches , with sparks flying all around was exhilarating and incredibly impressive . We observed almost the full production of the vehicle from steel sheets through its many stages including ; moulding , cutting , assembling and painting before seeing employees jump into the new vehicles and drive them off the end of the production line and outside for a test drive ; surely one of the more enviable positions on the production line . One point of interest was the multi-stage coating process whereby several layers including an ‘ electrocoat ’ charged with a high current are applied , ensuring perfect coverage and colour tone . Following this , the car is then baked at 180 degrees before receiving a gentle buffing from a carwash made from ostrich feathers !
It might have been easy to wonder exactly what Theresa May meant when she suggested creating a ‘ Northern Powerhouse ’ and a ‘ Midlands Engine ’, but a tour around Jaguar Land Rover quickly revealed the potential we have in this part of the country to combine technological expertise , organisational prowess and skilled labour to put together undeniably beautiful and competitively priced machines / automobiles which are desired around the globe . 2,200 employees have completed their apprenticeships at the site in the last 5 years and it is invigorating to imagine that this kind of progress and expansion could be the story of the region in the future .
This trip was invaluable in contributing to our understanding of complex industrial organisations and their multifaceted operations , and was useful in contextualising our existing knowledge , something which we are now able to draw upon within our assignments . The trip was thoroughly enjoyable from a non-academic perspective as few of us had been inside a factory before , certainly not one on the same scale , so it was a great opportunity for us to observe this type of work environment for the first time . The trip was also useful in a team building sense as we were all doing something together as a large group and we got to know more about each other , including the lecturers .
Halewood Factory visit