GROUP TECHNOLOGY: DEVELOPMENT, DIFFUSION AND APPLICATION IN THE US AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEX

Group Technology (GT) is an innovative approach to batch production which brings the benefits of mass production to small lot manufacturing. GT was first developed in the Soviet Union in the 1950's as a methodology for reducing set-up times on machines by sequencing parts requiring similar set-ups one after another. This notion of capitalizing on similarities among parts has expanded over the last thirty years to include applications in the areas of product design, production planning and plant layout. During this thirty year period GT's applications in industry have similarly expanded and, as a result, GT is currently used to varying degrees in industries of many developed countries. This dissertation traced the historical development of GT as well as its diffusion in industries of the world, by analyzing over 650 pieces of published literature. Each publication was read and coded along a variety of dimensions. The coded information was then analyzed using regression analyses. A definite pattern of geographic diffusion over time was identified. In addition, the dissertation surveyed a number of US users of GT in order to assess the status of GT use among US manufacturers today. The data from this survey, and the information from a similar study conducted in 1978, were used to assess the recent trends in US GT use. Discriminant analysis was employed and it was discovered that users had made significant changes in their applications of GT. There was also a significant difference in the number of benefits realized. Finally, the use of GT in the US and UK was compared. Data from approximately 25 case studies of firms using GT in each country was analysed using discriminant analysis. Significant differences in the application of GT and in the size of firms using GT in each country were identified.