The Factory of the Future and the Productivity Paradox

Abstract

Abstract Predictions about the Factory of the Future The factory is being reinvented from scratch. Traditional production lines are being ripped apart to make room for flexible ‘make-anything’ machinery ... Long narrow production lines with men [sic] crawling all over them-a feature of manufacturing every-where since the early days of the car-making dynasties—are being ⃛ replaced with clusters of all-purpose machines huddled in cells run by computers and served by multi-fingered robots. The whole shape of the industrial landscape is changing.