Socio-technical factors influencing current trends in material throughput in the UK automotive industry
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Publication Date
2017-07-10Journal Title
Journal of Cleaner Production
ISSN
0959-6526
Publisher
Elsevier
Volume
156
Pages
817-827
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Cooper, S., Doody, B., & Allwood, J. M. (2017). Socio-technical factors influencing current trends in material throughput in the UK automotive industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 156 817-827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.014
Abstract
This paper investigates why material throughput remains high in the UK automotive industry when there are opportunities for material efficiency improvements. Informed by socio-technical studies of automobility, the paper emphasises the importance of recognising how decisions regarding material use are always shaped by more than simply cost considerations. Drawing on industry interviews, six interconnected socio-technical factors are identified that guide the vehicle design and manufacturing process. These are: (1) customer preferences; (2) market positioning; (3) techno-economic feasibility; (4) supply chain feasibility; (5) regulation and (6) organisational attributes. These factors can provide insights into the current operating context of the UK automotive industry and help explain why the average material intensity of vehicles and vehicle throughput are increasing. Overall, the paper shows that the efficiency of material use in the UK automotive industry is the outcome of complex and advanced design and manufacturing processes. Understanding these processes and the factors that guide them can potentially increase the likelihood of the automotive industry adopting material efficiency initiatives.
Keywords
automobility, material efficiency, socio-technical factors, vehicle design, vehicle manufacturing
Sponsorship
S. Cooper is supported by a UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) PhD studentship (reference EP/L504920/1). Professor J.M. Allwood and Dr B.J. Doody by grant number EP/N02351X/1. None of the funding sources were involved with conducting the research.
Funder references
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/N02351X/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K011774/1)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L504920/1)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.014
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/267355
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International, Attribution 4.0 International
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