Word: switches
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...make grand changes in the body plan of animals, there is no need to invent new genes, just as there's no need to invent new words to write an original novel (unless your name is Joyce). All you need do is switch the same ones on and off in different patterns. Suddenly, here is a mechanism for creating large and small evolutionary changes from small genetic differences. Merely by adjusting the sequence of a promoter or adding a new one, you could alter the expression of a gene...
...this new view, genes allow the human mind to learn, remember, imitate, imprint language, absorb culture and express instincts. Genes are not puppet masters or blueprints, nor are they just the carriers of heredity. They are active during life; they switch one another on and off; they respond to the environment. They may direct the construction of the body and brain in the womb, but then almost at once, in response to experience, they set about dismantling and rebuilding what they have made. They are both the cause and the consequence of our actions...
With advanced robotics and software, particularly to weld vehicle skeletons, Nissan can switch among models quickly. Major suppliers, some housed on site, receive orders 90 minutes before production time, cutting inventory costs for both parties. Nissan's suppliers also preassemble "modules," say, for a front-end or cockpit, and deliver them in the sequence in which they're needed on the line: a batch of leather-finished cockpits for SUVs, followed by plastic-finished versions and then different cockpits for pickup trucks. Nissan's paint shop was designed for high flexibility too, using robotic painters that are programmed to switch...
Some Big Three assembly lines feature similar technologies and practices, and upgrades continue. But execution is key. "It takes tremendous discipline to keep everything organized as you switch between models and to maintain the right quantities of supplies at the line," says Jeff Liker, an engineering professor at the University of Michigan. "In that regard, GM, Ford and Chrysler aren't as advanced...
...flexible work force is especially critical for maintaining line speed if the model mix changes frequently. After a switch, a worker who formerly needed two minutes to help install a wiring harness might need only 90 seconds, meaning he or she could do another job--if allowed. But at some Big Three plants, assigning a new task to a worker requires consulting the local union leader, who might approve the extra job but insist on a quid pro quo--say, extra break time. Such complications can make it more costly to adjust the vehicle mix--leading to unsold vehicles...