Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (NMUK) is a British subsidiary car manufacturing plant in
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. It is owned and operated by the European division of Japanese car manufacturer
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
.
Geography
Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK is located in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, in
North East England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...
. It was built on the site of the former
RAF Usworth
Royal Air Force Sunderland'' or ''RAF Sunderland is a former Royal Air Force station in Sunderland. In 1958 the station was closed and the airfield became Sunderland Airport. Following the closure of the airport in 1984, the site has since b ...
airfield near the
A19 and
A1231. The factory is adjacent to the UK Nissan Distribution Centre (NDS) and has a number of on-site suppliers. The landscaped NMUK site incorporates
conservation area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s, such as ponds, lakes and woodland, and currently has 10 onsite wind turbines of the Vestas V47/660 type, producing up to 10% of the energy required for the plant. The site is located from the
Port of Tyne
The Port of Tyne comprises the commercial docks on and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England.
History
There has been a port on the Tyne at least since the Romans used their settlement of Arbeia to supply the gar ...
where international distribution is also based.
History
Nissan had been importing cars from its native country Japan to the UK since 1968, under the
Datsun
Datsun (, ) was an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunche ...
brand (which was phased out between 1982 and 1984, when the Nissan brand took over completely). After a steady start, its market share rose dramatically from just over 6,000 car sales in 1971 to more than 30,000 a year later, and reaching 100,000 a year before the end of the decade, aided by competitive prices, good equipment levels and a reputation for producing reliable cars. The success of Datsun came at a time when the British car industry, particularly
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
, was blighted by strikes as well as reports of disappointing build quality and reliability of many of its cars.
In February 1984, Nissan and the UK government signed an agreement to build a car plant in the UK. The following month a greenfield site in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, was chosen. As an incentive the land was offered to Nissan at agricultural prices; around £1,800 per acre. The
North East region of England had recently undergone a period of
industrial decline
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpre ...
, with the closure of most of the
shipyards
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
on the
Wear
Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology.
Wear in m ...
and
Tyne, and the closure of many
coal mines
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
on the once prosperous
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
coalfield. The high unemployment this caused meant Nissan had a large, eager, manufacturing-skilled workforce to draw upon. The site, once the Sunderland Airfield (formerly
RAF Usworth
Royal Air Force Sunderland'' or ''RAF Sunderland is a former Royal Air Force station in Sunderland. In 1958 the station was closed and the airfield became Sunderland Airport. Following the closure of the airport in 1984, the site has since b ...
), was close to ports on the
Wear
Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology.
Wear in m ...
and
Tyne, within easy driving distance of the international
Newcastle Airport Newcastle or New Castle Airport may refer to:
* Newcastle International Airport, an airport in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
** Newcastle Airport metro station, the Tyne and Wear metro station serving the airport
* Newcastle Airport (Nevis), no ...
, and close to major trunk roads such as the
A1 and A19, as well as major ports for the export of vehicles. The established company became known as Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, or NMUK. A ground breaking ceremony took place in July, and work began on the site in November 1984, by building contractors
Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine Limited is a family-owned building and civil engineering company based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It carries out engineering and construction in the infrastructure, heritage, commercial, arena and stadium, healthcare, educa ...
.
One of Nissan's more controversial demands during the talks was that the plant be single-
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
. This was unprecedented in UK industry. In April 1985, an agreement was reached with the
Amalgamated Engineering Union
The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major United Kingdom, British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992.
History
...
(AEU). However, critics argue that this means the plant workforce is weakly represented, as workers are only members of one single union. Nissan argues that as a result of the single-union agreement, its workforce is much more flexible than at other plants, and it points to the fact that not a single minute has been lost to
industrial disputes at the factory in more than 30 years of production – a stark contrast to the strikes which hit the likes of British Leyland during the 1970s.
![Nissan Bluebird T72 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Nissan_Bluebird_T72_1.8GS_Hatchback_at_sunset.jpg)
In December 1985, McAlpine handed over the completed factory building to Nissan for the installation of machinery and factory components, ahead of schedule.
[ Phase 1 of the plant construction was completed in July 1986, consisting of a body, paint and final assembly Line. The first ]Bluebird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
...
was produced shortly after and is on display at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a municipal museum in Sunderland, England. It contains the only known British example of a gliding reptile, the oldest known vertebrate capable of gliding flight. The exhibit was discovered in Eppleton qua ...
. Official opening of the plant by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
and Nissan President Yutaka Kume took place in September 1986. By February 1987, NMUK had become the sole supplier of the Bluebird model to the UK market, after a brief spell of importing Japanese built models, and work on phase two of the plant began, with plastics moulding and engine assembly beginning in 1988, and was completed in May 1990. This would prove to be a landmark year for the plant, with the introduction of the P10 Primera, the first model to be wholly built at NMUK, replacing the Bluebird and going into production that summer. By 1991, despite the recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
, the plant turned its first profit of £18.4 million, and was awarded 'British Manufacturer' status by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is the trade association for the United Kingdom motor industry. Its role is to "promote the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad."
History
SMMT was founded by Frede ...
(SMMT). Around this time, Nissan ended its relationship with Octav Botnar
Octav Botnar (October 21, 1913 – July 11, 1998) was a self-made businessman who founded Datsun UK (later Nissan UK) and its associated car retail business Automotive Financial Group (AFG). He was a noted philanthropist.
Early life
Botnar w ...
and the Automotive Financial Group
Automotive Financial Group (normally styled as AFG) was a British company specialising in automotive retailing and the sale of associated products and services. The company was founded by the Austro-Hungarian businessman Octav Botnar in 1985 as a ...
(AFG), which had been its UK import concessionaire since 1970, and brought the import and distribution business in-house, basing it at the Sunderland plant. In August 1992, the plant began to produce two models, with the introduction of the highly successful Micra, which was the first car of a Japanese brand to be voted "European Car of the Year
The European Car of the Year ("ECOTY") award is an international Car of the Year award established in 1964, by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organising companies of the award are ''Auto'' (Ita ...
". The Micra proved particularly popular with British and continental buyers, and was in production for a whole decade until the launch of the next generation Micra.
The early 21st century was a period of growth for the plant, with the plant being awarded contracts to build the updated Almera from the end of 1999, becoming a three-model plant, and continuation of the Micra and Primera model changes. The Micra C+C was also produced there after the introduction of a new Micra hatchback at the end of 2002.
Late 2005 saw the introduction of the Note
Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to:
Music and entertainment
* Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music
* ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian
* ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened version ...
model, and a year later came the demise of the Almera and the introduction of the Qashqai. At this point, NMUK had built a reputation for being the most efficient plant in Europe.
By 2008, the falling sales of the Primera led to its demise (UK sales had finished two years earlier), with the Qashqai becoming the main model for the plant, with such high demand that a night shift was introduced to keep up. The Primera five-door model had the distinction of being the first model built at NMUK to be exported to the Japanese market. Nearly 5,000 workers were employed at the plant by this stage; however 1,200 of them were made redundant in January 2009 as a result of the recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
which saw demand for new cars slump.
Despite a temporary suspension of the third shift due to the automotive industry crisis of 2008, the third shift was reintroduced, and the strong demand for the Qashqai has helped NMUK remain strong throughout the crisis.
After the crisis, Nissan announced that the new Juke model would be built starting in July 2010, replacing the Micra (now produced in Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, India) and that NMUK would be the European manufacturing location for the Electric Vehicle Leaf
A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
model beginning in 2011, as well as an on-site lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility for an investment of £420 million ($636 million USD), backed by the U.K. government. 2013 saw the introduction of the second-generation Note and Qashqai.
Nissan's Sunderland plant in northeast England will play an important role in the firm's future, executives said in May 2020, despite plans to downsize elsewhere in Europe.
In July 2021, Nissan announced plans to create 400 jobs at the Sunderland factory site to build a new electric vehicle and models such as the Juke, Qashqai and the Leaf. This development forms part of plans to create 6,000 new jobs in Sunderland at Nissan and among its suppliers, under a blueprint announced by the company earlier in July as it invests £1bn to develop an electric vehicle manufacturing hub in the United Kingdom.
Models produced at Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK
Current models
* Nissan Qashqai
The Nissan Qashqai () is a compact crossover SUV (C-segment) developed and produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan since 2006. The first generation of the vehicle was sold under the name in Japan and Australia, and Qashqai in other marke ...
(2006–present)
* Nissan Juke
The is a subcompact crossover SUV (B-segment) produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan since 2010. Debuted as a production vehicle at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March and positioned below the C-segment Qashqai, it was introduced to ...
(2010–present)
* Nissan Leaf
The , stylized as LEAF, is a compact five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufactured by Nissan. It was introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its second generation was introduced in October 2017. The Lea ...
(2012–present)
Former models
* Nissan Bluebird
The is a compact car with a model name introduced in 1957. It has been Nissan's most internationally recognized sedan, in multiple body styles, and is known for its dependability and durability. The Bluebird originated from Nissan's first vehic ...
(1986–1990)
* Nissan Primera
The is a Mid-size car, large family car which was produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1990 to 2007, for the markets in Japan and Europe. In Japan, it replaced the Nissan Stanza, Auster/Stanza, and was exclusive to ''Nissan Motor Comp ...
(1990–2008)
* Nissan Micra
The Nissan Micra, also known as the , is a supermini car ( B-segment) that has been produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan since 1982.
The Nissan Micra replaced the Japanese-market Nissan Cherry. It was exclusive to Nissan J ...
(1992–2010)
* Nissan Almera
The Nissan Almera is a line of automobiles that has been manufactured by the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan since 1995. For its early generations, the Almera is a compact car (C-segment), essentially being the European export-market version ...
(2000–2006)
* Nissan Note
The is a supermini/subcompact hatchback or a mini MPV manufactured and marketed worldwide by Nissan. Introduced in 2004, the first-generation Note was primarily marketed in Japan and Europe, and was produced in Japan and the United Kingdom. The ...
(2005–2017)
* Infiniti Q30
The Infiniti Q30 is a subcompact executive car built and sold by Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand between 2016 and 2019. The Q30 is built on the third-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class platform to create a small, premium hatchback. The Q30 is a resu ...
(2015–2019)
* Infiniti QX30
The Infiniti QX30 is a subcompact luxury crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Nissan's Infiniti luxury brand. It is heavily based on the Q30 hatchback with modifications mainly in its ride height in order to be marketed as a crossover. Bot ...
(2016–2019)
Production by model
According to Richard Aucock of Motoring Research, NMUK produced 507,444 cars at their Sunderland plant during 2016, making it the 2nd largest UK manufacturer behind Jaguar Land Rover. JLR reportedly produced 544,401 cars during the same period. No breakdown of figures to illustrate volumes per model have been published yet.
Plant functions
NMUK is split into three logical areas: Body Assembly, Paint and Final Assembly. Each is further broken down into areas known as 'shops'.
Press shop
The first shop in the manufacturing process, the Press Shop is responsible for pressing the outer and inner body panels of the vehicle. NMUK houses a 5,000 tonne press capable of pressing two panels simultaneously – one of only two in use in any Nissan plant.
Body shop
Linked directly to the Press Shop, the Body Shop is a highly automated section of the factory with over 500 robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
s in operation. Pressed-panels are welded together to create complete body shells.
Body Paint shop
Body shells are painted in a semi-clean environment using solvent-based paint. Shells are dipped in chemical tanks to cleanse them of any oils picked up on the panels during their manufacture in Body Shop. Once bodies have been dipped and cleansed, they are then immersed in an anti-corrosion paint dip called ED (Electrocoat Dip). This 'dip' coats the entire body, both inside and outside, and is the first paint coating it will receive. Once the 'dipped' body has been stoved in the ED oven, the body progresses to the 'Sealing' Booth. In this booth, the body has its interior panel joints, floor, tailgate, hood and door edges sealed with a PVC based sealant to prevent water ingress and corrosion as the car is driven on the road. Also within this zone, sound pads are added to the floor and boot to reduce road noise (standard practice in the motor industry). The next booth it enters is the 'Underbody' Booth. In this booth, similar to 'Sealing' Booth, the body's wheel arches are sealed using the same PVC based sealant. Robots then apply the underseal {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
On vehicles
Underseal (often called undercoating in the U.S.) is a thick resilient coating applied to the underbody or chassis of an automobile to protect against impact damage from small stones, which would rapi ...
to the underfloor and wheel arches. Also robots are used to apply the SGC (Stone Guard Coat) layer to the sills: this coating is designed for abrasion resistance, i.e. preventing stone chips, scuffs, etc. From here, the body proceeds into the Undercoat Oven. The next zone is 'ED Sanding' booth where the body is inspected for any minor imperfections received in the ED Coat. The next zone is the 'Surfacer' Booth, where the body receives its second coat of paint, this being the Surfacer Coat, then into the Surfacer Oven. Next is 'Surfacer Sanding' Booth: the same as ED Sanding, this zone inspects the body for any imperfections picked up within the Surfacer coating. Next comes the 'Topcoat' Booth, where the body receives its final coats of paint, these being Topcoat and Clearcoat layers. After being stoved in the Topcoat oven, the body then enters the 'Touch-up' Booth where the body has its final inspection for any imperfections picked up in the Topcoat process. Once the body leaves here, it then moves on to the PBS (Painted Body Store) above Trim and Chassis to await the next step in the production process.
Over £10m has been invested into the Paint Shop, in readiness for the upcoming introduction of Infiniti models Q30 & QX30, making Nissan Sunderland, the first plant outside Japan to produce this luxury brand, alongside its current models.
Plastics shop
Plastic components such as bumpers are injection-moulded on site.
Plastic Paint Shop
Bumpers molded in the Plastics shop are painted in the Plastic Paint shop which directly feeds Trim & chassis. The shop uses a combination of manual sprayers and robots to coat up to 900 bumper sets per shift. The process in Plastic Paint is similar to body paint, the parts are washed in a Powerwash facility before being masked (dependent on trim level). From here the parts are painted with primer, then basecoat, some colours get two coats of basecoat at different stations (Pearlescent effect). Then all part receive a layer of clearcoat before being stoved in an oven.
Casting shop
Aluminium engine components such as cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber.
In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...
s are produced in the state-of-the-art Casting plant.
Unit shop
1.2 turbo, 1.2 supercharged, 1.6 and 2.0 litre petrol engines are built on-site on the Unit Assembly line. The cylinder heads and camshafts are machined along the machining line before being shipped to the Assembly line. The Unit Shop contains its own engine testing areas. Diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
s are no longer produced at NMUK.
Axle shop
A second welding facility costing over £5m is currently being built to ease demand on the Axle Shop for Qashqai.
Trim & chassis
There are two parallel assembly lines in NMUK: Line 2 currently handles the Juke and Qashqai after recently ceasing to make the Q30 and the QX30 ; Line 1 handles the Qashqai and Leaf. Painted bodies are stored in a large holding area called PBS (Painted Body Store), and are released in a specific scheduled sequence. They are brought into Trim & Chassis on suspended cradles. Each body moves through the assembly line and is fitted with interior (Trim), and exterior (Chassis) components. At one point in the process, the bodies are 'married' to a sub-assembled engine and subframe. Completed vehicles are sent down a Final Line, where all aspects of the car, from brakes to waterproofing, are tested. The car is then driven off-line to a holding area, ready to be distributed to a dealer.
Offices
Although the plant is made up primarily of manufacturing areas, there is also a large office complex, housing supporting functions including: Personnel, Community Relations, Production Control, Engineering, Finance, Purchasing and Information Systems. Some of these support functions, including Purchasing, Finance and Information Systems are not just responsible for NMUK but for Nissan Europe as well. During a company restructuring exercise in 2003, large parts of the Purchasing department were relocated to Cranfield
Cranfield is a village and civil parish in the west of Bedfordshire, England, situated between Bedford and Milton Keynes. It had a population of 4,909 in 2001. increasing to 5,369 at the 2011 Census. The parish is in Central Bedfordshire uni ...
. This angered many in the plant, but widespread industrial action was avoided. In 2005, parts of the Finance department were relocated to Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
in Hungary. In both instances, NMUK adopted a policy of finding new jobs in other departments for those who did not want to relocate.
Information technology
NMUK relies heavily on information technology to function. Computer-controlled robots and other machinery, particularly in the body shop, are vital to production. These machines are maintained and controlled by specialist engineering teams. Other functions, such as the complex scheduling of vehicles, parts control and ordering, vehicle tracking, etc. are managed by software written in-house. Most of the software resides on an IBM mainframe computer. This mainframe is not just responsible for NMUK; it controls business functions across the Europe region, including NMUK's sister plant, NMISA, based in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain. The mainframe is located within the European Data Centre (EDC), which houses and maintains the mainframe and over 50 servers.
Workforce and productivity
NMUK is one of the most productive car plants in Europe, producing more cars per worker than any other factory. There are 7000 staff directly employed by NMUK, and approximately 500 contracted, indirect staff. Employees at NMUK work a standard 39-hour week. While Office staff work on a fixed day shift basis, manufacturing staff work alternating morning and evening shifts. Morning shifts run from 7 am to 3:18 pm. Evening shifts run from approximately 4:35 pm to 12:53 am. Shift times can vary depending on requirements. When required, overtime is worked, although it balanced out during the year with planned downtime.
A 3-shift system has been introduced at times of high demand, meaning that the factory is active 24 hours a day. This is something that is only introduced if NMUK officials can be sure demand is high enough.
Line 1 ran three shift production from August 2008 to the start of January 2009 to meet unprecedented demand for the Qashqai, however due to the credit crunch and falling orders the third shift was suspended and people released by voluntary redundancy.
Staff at NMUK use a number of methods to ensure productivity remains high. Three of the main ones are Kaizen
is concept referring to business activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. ''Kaizen'' also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics, that cross organ ...
, Just in Time and Job Rotation.
In July 2011, Nissan announced that it would be recruiting a further 200 jobs at the plant to deal with "record" levels of production.
Kaizen
Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning Continuous Improvement. NMUK encourages all of its workforce to seek out areas in which improvements in their working environment, no matter how small, can be made. For example, a line-worker may have to bend down to pick a part out of a box as each vehicle goes past. This could have health and safety implications, as well as wasting time. Kaizen teams would then investigate, and possibly introduce a method in which the box is stored at an optimum height, within easy reach of the line-worker.
Kaizen teams are based in every department. The emphasis is on small, manageable improvements, although large Kaizen projects have been undertaken, e.g. platforms that follow the vehicle down the line to prevent workers from having to walk alongside it while working.
Just in Time (JIT)
The JIT philosophy, encourages the use of the minimum amount of resources (e.g. space, time, material, workers) necessary to add value to a product.
NMUK uses this management technique throughout the factory and beyond. Synchronous Suppliers deliver parts line-side only when they are required, therefore reducing the need to store large supplies of parts at great cost.
Job rotation
To keep the workforce flexible, NMUK operates a policy of '1 worker -> 3 jobs, 3 workers -> 1 job'. In other words, a worker should be competent in at least three different jobs, and at least three people should be capable of doing each job.
This principle ensures that each job can be covered in the case of absence. It also means that jobs can be regularly rotated to prevent a worker from becoming bored in a particular role.
Training
In accordance with its Investors in People
Investors in People is a standard for people management, offering accreditation to organisations that adhere to the Investors in People Standard. From 1991 to January 2017, Investors in People was owned by the UK government. As of 1 February 20 ...
responsibilities, NMUK has a strong Training department and offers a wide range of on and off the job training. The Flexible Learning Centre established on-site is open to all staff and allows them to take part in over 300 courses.
Technical on-the-job training is available to all staff, and most of the courses are given on-site by qualified trainers. People-development courses (e.g. presentation skills) are also provided. NMUK spends more per head on staff-development than the British industry average.
NMUK has a Continuous Development Programme (CDP) whereby staff are given personal and professional objectives every year, and are appraised against the objects. This appraisal is linked to pay increases. This is also an opportunity for staff to identify where further training may be appropriate.
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissan Motor Manufacturing Uk
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1984
Companies based in the City of Sunderland
Nissan
Economy of the City of Sunderland
British subsidiaries of foreign companies
Motor vehicle assembly plants in the United Kingdom