Manufacturing as a system-determined science

Abstract

This paper addresses the general issue of manufacturing as a system-determined science. To adequately assess the degree to which systems thinking enters into considerations of modern manufacturing, several interconnected schemes are developed which, taken together, provide a taxonomy of manufacturing problems. It is shown that each manufacturing problem exists at a certain hierarchical level, the lowest being Raw Materials, the highest Values. Further, each problem can be labeled as a Design, Production, or Distribution problem, provided these terms are taken in a general sense. Finally, it is shown that each problem has associated with it one or more foundational system concepts (flexibility, complexity, adaptation, etc.), lending the problem its characteristic system flavor. Putting the hierarchical, Design-Production-Distribution and system concepts labels together supplies the basis for a classification scheme which, at the same time, enables us to unequivocally answer the question as to whether there is a significant systems component to most problems of modern manufacturing. There is!