Computer Integration of Advanced Manufacture

Abstract

An inhibiting misconception in the advancement of manufacturing is the widely assumed inevitability of de-humanization of the workplace, and adverse effects of machines taking over. Manufacturing of the future must be: business-led, and targeted to optimize corporate opportunities; planned, equipped and operated accurately to quantifiable, comprehensible criteria; interfaced with and supportive of the the people who run the system. Therefore analysis and rationalization of the total manufacturing system and strategy should precede computer integration. Techniques such as production flow analysis and computer simulation are important ways of achieving this, but there are others also; these will be considered in the paper. This results in more logical and efficient processing, materials handling and therefore manufacturing flow and orderliness, promoting an effective basis of visibility, information and control, and maximum benefits from computer integration. The growing science of artificial intelligence will complement conventional software engineering skills. A key issue is the technical skills and training of literate manufacturing systems engineers and managers. In optimized manufacture human judgement increasingly needs the control and information systems back-up that computer integration is capable of providing, particularly against the background of increasing rate of technological change, greater complexity of tasks and interactions with which companies' corporate manufacturing and marketing strategies will have to deal in the future.