Students given an insight into Nissan Production Way

Organised by the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, the purpose of the lecture was to give the students an insight into the automotive industry and specifically how Nissan operate a global production system, the Nissan Production Way.

As well as the theory behind NPW from its conception to implementation, Trevor also explained how Nissan strive to achieve Douki-seisan, their ideal state of manufacturing, which in turn allows the company to improve their efficiency and drives down customer lead time.

Following the lecture, Trevor took questions from the floor on a range of topics including suppliers, how the company maintains its production systems and its competitors.

Speaking after the lecture, he said:  “I was delighted to be approached by the University to speak to the students.

“As Sunderland Plant evolves over the next few years and we welcome on line new technology like the Nissan LEAF and lithium-ion batteries there are many interesting career opportunities that exist for postgraduates.

“While we hope they embrace this new technology it’s important that they gain an understanding into the original ethos behind how we operate and sessions like this provide a valuable opportunity.”

The lecture was organised as part of a research project funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering.  The aim of the project is to investigate how different learning contexts and environments affect mechanical engineering students' approaches to learning.  

Dr Roger Penlington, Teaching Fellow from Northumbria, said:  “Activities such as this are very helpful for students’ understanding of how they should view their study as preparation for employment. Nissan are a very prominent employer in the region and many of our students will seek placement and employment opportunities with the company.  The information that Trevor gave them was very useful, giving the students context for some of the concepts they have been learning about. Initial findings of the project show that students have a clear idea of their career path, that their study here is only just the beginning.  Being an engineer means that they will continue to learn for the duration of their careers.”