Fiat was among the first companies to adopt a Post-Fordist system in production after its recovery from the 1970 oil crisis. The large-scale deployment of robotics in the production process of Fiat Company was the most significant move to cope with increased competition and demand. In 1972, the company initiated the adoption of FMS so that it could shift to flexible production methods from the Fordistic inflexible mass production systems. The move was considered as the first step towards discontinuity in management and organization involving the shift in planned goals and replacements of procedures supporting operations supervision.
The Robogate technology was developed in-house by Fiat Company and used to create flexibility with enhanced product-mix flexibility. Product-mix flexibility is the conferred ability of an organization to produce different products sequentially using the same lines of production. As indicated, the shift from Fordist mass production systems enables a company to reduce tool specificity and enhance the multi-tasking of various production lines in the production process.
Robogate key innovative feature was the ability to produce different car models in a sequence using a single production line. The technology also offered the company chance to explore other areas where production costs could be reduced. For example, downsizing the number of company workers. The Robotics deployed in different Fiat Company plants enabled the company to optimally utilize its capacity through engaging every possible capacity in the production process. For instance, in Fiat production plants, some plants recorded 90% capacity utilization.
Thus, with robotics deployment there was a discontinuity in managerial processes and organization that characterized flexible production systems. In Robogate technology application, a single line was converted to multi-task in the production of various types of cars according to demand. This reduced the tool specificity, which characterized Fordist production system that laid emphasis on specialization and tool specificity. Due to increased utilization of firm’s production capacity, this technology enabled the company to slice down its working-force without having any effect on the production capacity of the company. The technology also enhanced the reduction of production costs by reducing the number of working days without effecting the production and the performance of the company at its peak.
The rapid production of cars, the over and under-utilization of some lines led to the creation of spare capacity. Infusion of the technology into the firm’s production lines enabled the utilization of spare capacity to increase production. At its peak, the Robogate technology enhanced the company realization of flexibility and this typified Post-Fordistic mass production systems.
The 1970s also witnessed crisis due to the use of inflexible production methods that were asset-specific and hindered mass manufacturing of industries to adapt to the ever-increasing demand of their products. Therefore, the period of 1970s was characterized by inflexible production systems that threatened to offset the industrial production. The criteria used to access the flexibility of a company’s production system are how well it utilizes the capacity of production at its disposal. During the 1970s, Fiat maintained a single line production, due to the level of inflexibility, but this changed as robotics application in production gained momentum as indicated in the graphical representation.
Robots were first deployed in 1972 in managing the automated finishing of the cars. They enhanced the speed of production as witnessed in the increased production from approximately 126 cars a day before robotics deployment and up to 1,400 cars a day. This production involved multiple types ranging fro Unos, Ritmos to Regata from the same plant using the same lines of production. As exhibited by the graphical representation, the robotics improved the speed of production by their utilization in the welding part of production.
The deployment of robotics also enhanced the reduction in working hours that never affected the productive capacity of the industry, highlighting the significance of the robotics deployment in enhancing the speed of production. The deployment also reduced the number of working days to a range of 19-23 and 232 days in a year.
Furthermore, the company was able to restructure through laying-off some of the workers and reducing time of hours, days worked and managed to reach its intended production level without any hitch. The flexibility level of a company is also determined by the capacity utilization that a certain firm seems to embrace. Fiat Company was able to effectively utilize capacity in the production process creating spare capacity that was utilized back in the production process to increase productivity. The Robotics deployed in different Fiat Company plants enabled the company to optimally utilize its capacity through engaging every possible capacity in the production process. For instance, in Fiat production plants, some plants recorded 90% capacity utilization.
Although this era marked the initial application of Robotics to production, inflexibility still loomed. The onset of the 1980s saw massive deployment of robotics in production. This went along with the rise in the level of flexibility and product-mix flexibility as witnessed in the different levels of production recorded in the 1970s and 1980s.