Abstract
Moveable factories can enable leapfrogging of fixed
industrial factories, and so make immediate contributions
to global goals of more resilient sustainable
manufacturing. Moveable factories bring into use diverse
technological advances that reduce the number, size, and
weight of machines needed to carry out manufacturing
operations at points of supply and/or demand. However,
fixed industrial factories continue to be the principal
focus for development and application of new
manufacturing technologies. At the same time, fixed
industrial factories continue to be seen by policy makers
around the world as the default option for developing
prosperity: rather than as an old fashioned production
paradigm to be leapfrogged over. In this paper, findings
are reported from a case study investigating potential
for moveable factories to bring leapfrog manufacturing to
an industrial economy. This case study comprised
literature review, interviews, and theoretical analyses.
Study findings indicate that organisations in an
industrial economy will consider moveable factories if
fixed factories are not feasible, practical, or viable.
By contrast, potential for improved efficiency and
flexibility may not be sufficient to motivate a shift
away from fixed industrial factories.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-14 |
Journal | Technologies |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- industrial psychology
- leapfrogging
- manufacturing
- moveable factories
- technology diffusion