ABSTRACT
Each corporation in the automobile industry must face many challenges in order to remain competitive in today’s environment. To be successful, an automobile manufacturer must react quickly to a changing market on a predictive basis. Paramount to this goal is the ability to utilize resources effectively. When we think of resources within a corporation, we generally think in terms of facilities, equipment, labor, capital, and human resources. In this text we want to concentrate specifically on human resources and, within that topic, the chemist’s role within engineering resources. This role has been traditionally defined as a chemical analyst working within a major OEM (original equipment manufacturer) doing quality control or failure analysis. Much of the development work has been left to mechanical engineers as well as metallurgists. From the design and development of a vehicle to its manufacture and testing, it has become increasingly clear that chemical knowledge is required.
