Simulated Work Environment

Sharon Carty of USA Today installs a bumper on a wooden vehicle as team leader Jaime Cox looks on in a Simulated Work Environment (SWE) at Lansing Delta Township Assembly on Friday, June 15, 2007 in Delta Township, Michigan. General Motors invited automotive journalists to participate in the SWE to gain hands-on experience by applying the
principles of GM's Global Manufacturing System to the assembly of wooden cars in the simulation. (General Motors Photo/Brian Masengale, UAW)

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Reporters Try Hand at Making “Wood” Cars
Ever wonder how a vehicle is assembled? Ever wonder why workers use an Andon cord in manufacturing? A dozen journalists who cover General Motors and the automotive industry were recently invited to Lansing Delta Township, GM’s newest assembly plant in the United States, to get answers to those questions by building their own vehicles.

Overview story
Gary Cowger presentation (pdf)
Global Manufacturing System fact sheet