Cleveland, Tennessee-based lean management specialist Carolyn Seale has spent more than 15 years as an Industrial Engineering Manager for DENSO Manufacturing's Kaizen Fabrication Team. Carolyn Seale works at the firm’s Athens factory, which is at the forefront of producing autonomous driving solutions. DENSO aims to develop and perfect automated driving technologies that will reduce accidents due to human error. Rather than replacing the role of the driver, automated driving capabilities support the driver in the acceleration, deceleration, and steering processes. While fully automated driving experiences are likely some years away, advanced automated driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are in various stages of development. These systems gather input from radar, computer vision, and other sensing technologies to scan the immediate environment and can signal warnings to the driver as well as take evasive steps through braking and steering inputs. DENSO considers social factors alongside ADAS development. For instance, the firm categorizes automation into five levels to help consumers develop reasonable expectations for self-driving technologies. Secondly, the firm considers how to increase safety while maintaining the pleasurable sensation many experience while driving.
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A Cleveland, Tennessee resident, Carolyn Seale manages processes and planning for Denso Manufacturing, a major automotive supplier. Prior to embarking upon her career, Carolyn Seale attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, earning a bachelor of science in industrial and engineering management. Recently, UNC Asheville was recognized by the Princeton Review as one of 399 institutions of higher learning in the United States notable for its emphasis on sustainability and environmental responsibility. UNC Asheville received a score of 90 out of 99 for its “green rating,” based on elements such as the availability of sustainable degree programs, the presence of committees focused on environmentally friendly initiatives, and green transportation options to and from campus. UNC Asheville incorporates sustainability through campus activities, maintaining edible on-campus gardens, operating the McCullough Institute for Conservation, Land Use, and Environmental Resiliency, and hosting the semi-annual Greenfest event. The campus also facilitates a waste reduction program for students and sustains landscaped areas known as pollinator gardens to promote biodiversity and the growth of local plant life. An accomplished leader of operations in the industrial engineering sector, Carolyn Seale lives in Cleveland, Tennessee, and works for Denso Manufacturing in nearby Athens. As a manager with Denso, Carolyn Seale oversees manufacturing with a focus on the principles of the Toyota Production System. A widely studied and respected example of a lean manufacturing system, the Toyota Production System (TPS) strives for "the complete elimination of all waste" by fine-tuning all facets of the production process for maximum efficiency. TPS is rooted in two fundamental concepts: jidoka and Just-in-Time (JIT). Loosely translated as "automation with a human touch," jidoka combines the best of modern technology and mechanized equipment with close human supervision and manual intervention. In short, jidoka involves the immediate shutdown of affected lines when problems arise, therefore limiting the number of defective products manufactured. JIT philosophies revolve around the idea that each step in the manufacturing process should create only what is needed for the next step. For example, the component parts-making step of the car-building process must produce everything needed for the assembly line without wasting a single part. Carolyn Seale is an industrial engineering and planning manager at Denso Manufacturing in Athens, Tennessee, a maker of advanced automotive technologies. Living in nearby Cleveland and having 17 years at Denso, Carolyn Seale practices the Toyota Production System (TPS) principles. TPS originated in Japan with Sakichi Toyoda, the inventor of an automatic loom which he developed in 1924. In the 1930s, his son Kiichiro Toyoda extended the system to increase efficiency at the fledgling Toyota Motor Corporation. The central concept of TPS is the just-in-time inventory system, which ties orders of raw materials and parts to production schedules. In automotive manufacturing, this translates to maintaining a small inventory by ordering parts just as they are needed in the assembly line. The just-in-time method not only trims inventory - it eliminates unneeded manufacturing processes and reduces the number of defective parts. These and other efficiencies significantly improve productivity. TPS helped Toyota compete successfully in the United States and Europe. Often referred to as the “Toyota Way,” TPS embodies the corporate philosophies of “daily improvements” and “good thinking, good products.” |
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