Computer-aided Production Management Research Articles

PRIMENA KONCEPTA INDUSTRIJA 4.0 U REPUBLICI SRBIJI

Četvrta industrijska revolucija označava promenu u industrijskom sektoru: sve se razvija iz pred-planiranog i sekvencijalnog procesa u organizacioni, samoorganizovani logistički sistem. U ovom radu biće prikazano istraživanje trenutnog stanja primene koncepata Industrije 4.0 u Republici Srbiji. 12,6 procenata predeuzeća iz prerađivačkog sektora je uvelo tehnologije industrijskih robota, 31,6 procenata je uvelo tehnologije računarom podržano planiranje i upravljanje proizvodnjom.

Automated system for research and prediction of cognitive human behavior in extreme situations

The problem of stability, robust human activity in conditions of extreme factors and psychological development (professional) stress attracted increased attention and gained some shape as an independent area of research with the development of technology, computer-aided production management and especially computerization all areas. Based on the physiological and cognitive human organization and information technology developed scheme for research and prediction cognitive behavior. Figs.: 4. Refs.: 11 titles.Keywords: prediction; cognitive human behavior; extreme situation; the automated system.

Lean Production and information technology: Connection or contradiction?

The principles of Lean Production have enabled organisations in the manufacturing and service sectors to significantly improve their competitiveness. The application of Lean principles, derived from the Toyota Production System has enabled many organisations to simultaneously improve productivity, quality and customer service. Similar benefits have been achieved through the application of information technology (IT). The application of IT and Lean principles are claimed to be interdependent and complimentary by some; whilst others have seen as the approaches as being mutually exclusive. This article presents reviews the role of IT in achieving the principles of Lean Production. Three important topics are reviewed: the use of IT in production logistics; computer-aided production management systems; and advanced plant maintenance. It is shown that the roots of different ways of working were similar, but that subsequent developments followed in opposite directions. Later, when the acceptance of Lean Production became more pervasive, the practices typically converged into hybrid production systems, applying elements of several systems in a way that is consistent with the principles with Lean Production.

Computer-aided production management issues in the engineer-to-order production of complex capital goods explored using a simulation approach

This paper describes the exploration of manufacturing planning and control issues in the capital goods industry using a simulation approach. The companies produce products which have deep and complex product structures and are produced in low volume on an engineer- or make-to-order basis (ETO, MTO). The work reported here draws on the results of surveys of companies involved in the manufacture of capital goods which identified their characteristics of ETO and MTO capital goods companies and their strategic issues. The planning and control approaches adopted in the manufacturing facilities and the difficulties experienced in the application of computer-aided production management (CAPM) systems were also examined. The simulation model developed enables complex manufacturing systems to be modelled and was configured to represent a typical ETO/MTO facility using industrial data. A series of full factorial experiments were performed to explore a number of production management problems identified in surveys including capacity planning, assembly planning and scheduling strategies. Conclusions are drawn on the effects on performance and capacity of: applying minimum set-up and processing times for both major and minor activities; using different data update periods and assembly lead times; and adopting various scheduling and despatching approaches. These results are compared with those obtained by other workers who used survey techniques alone, and have implications for the manufacturers of capital goods.

The Efficiency of CAPM Systems in Companies Making Capital Goods

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the efficiency and effectiveness of installed computer aided production management (CAPM) systems in a number of manufacturing companies. All of companies were all involved in the design and manufacture of capital goods on an engineer to order or make to order basis and faced severe requirements with regard to the need for effective and efficient systems of manufacturing control. Despite their widespread adoption by industry there is still considerable debate on the value of CAPM systems. The methodology used in the investigation employs a Delphi approach and is designed to establish the contribution of the CAPM system to the company's competitive position. The characteristics of the companies are discussed and the particular problems found with the CAPM systems are described.

The implementation and integration of information systems for production management in manufacturing: An empirical study

Information technology support for manufacturing systems embodies complex and systematic activities in modern industrial enterprises. In order to successfully and profitably operate in rapidly changing markets, highly flexible production, computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), supplychain management (SCM) and customer relationship management (CRM) need to be developed. The aim of the paper is to describe the results of a comparative study of the implementation and integration of computer aided production management (CAPM) in Taiwan and the UK, one of the emerging 'little dragons' of Far East Asia and manufacturers in the developed Western economy of the UK. The research design used both qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques to introduce and examine a model of best practice in the CAPM for manufacturing systems, by drawing on the practical experience of senior managers of production and MIS in Taiwan and the UK. Two phases of fieldwork were undertaken. In the first phase, 20 case studies on the use of CAPM in Taiwanese manufacturing companies were developed. In the second phase, a questionnaire was sent by post to senior mangers of MIS and production in both Taiwan and the UK. Although the industrial development and manufacturing histories of the two countries are very different, it was found that manufacturers in the two countries appear to be pursuing CAPM development strategies, which are leading to convergent solutions. While UK manufacturers have more experience with computerization of manufacturing than their Taiwanese counterparts, and the initial systems designs in the two countries were different, developers have encountered similar difficulties in developing systems. However, Taiwanese manufacturers appear to be improving the quality of their CAPM systems in a more systematic and thus faster manner than their UK counterparts. Some Taiwanese firms have overcome systems development barriers to achieve a high state of CAPM implementation and integration and many UK and Taiwanese firms had plans in place to further develop and integrate CAPM. A comparison of CAPM in the two countries suggests that Taiwanese manufacturers have created the platforms on which to build CAPM systems, are aware of the problems they face and have plans to overcome them. When these plans were examined and compared with the UK, both countries appear to be moving towards similar designs for their manufacturing systems.

The implementation and integration of computer aided production management (CAPM) in Taiwan and the UK: an empirical study

This article describes the results of a comparative study of the implementation and integration of computer aided production management (CAPM) in the UK and Taiwan, one of the emerging little dragons of South East Asia, and manufacturers in the developed Western economy. The research design used qualitative and quantitative analyses to develop and examine a model of CAPM implementation and integration, by drawing on the practical experience of senior managers of management information systems (MIS) and production in Taiwan and the UK. Three phases of fieldwork were undertaken. The first phase is an investigation survey that began with literature and involved exploratory fieldwork visiting Taiwanese manufacturing companies. The second phase identifies from case analysis the most important elements of CAPM systems allowing the development of a model of CAPM implementation and integration. The third phase is to examine and refine the model of CAPM and compare with the findings of other researchers. Although the industrial development and manufacturing histories of the two countries are very different, it was found that manufacturers in both countries appear to be pursuing CAPM development strategies which are leading to convergent solutions. Whilst UK manufacturers have more experience with the computerisation of production management than their Taiwanese counterparts, and the initial system designs in the two countries were different, developers have encountered similar difficulties in developing systems. Taiwanese manufacturers appear to be improving the quality of their production management computer systems in a more systematic, and thus faster manner than their UK counterparts. Most Taiwanese and UK firms have overcome systems development barriers to achieve a high state of full CAPM integration, computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), and supply chain management (SCM). A comparison of CAPM in the two countries suggests that Taiwanese manufacturers have created the platforms on which to build CAPM systems, are aware of the problems they face and have plans to overcome them. When these plans were examined and compared with the UK, both countries appear to be moving toward similar designs for their CAPM systems.

Central Agencies in the Diffusion and Design of Technology: A Comparison of the UK and Sweden

This paper compares the adoption and design of Computer-Aided Production Management (CAPM) technologies in Sweden and the UK and examines the influence of technology suppliers and Professional Associations (PAs) as central agencies in shaping this diffusion process. Members of professional operations management associations in each country were surveyed and interviews were carried out with key stakeholders. These revealed differences in diffusion patterns with earlier adoption of standardized packaged solutions in the UK and a stronger reliance on in-house customized systems in Sweden. An explanation for this is that highly codified and portable notions of `best practice' have been promoted more strongly both by technology suppliers and PAs in the UK than in Sweden. The paper suggests that objectified forms of knowledge communication and fashion setting have dominated diffusion and design processes more heavily in the UK than in Sweden. This may be problematic because objectified notions of `best practice' under-emphasize the context-sensitivity of the technology and the need for organizational redesign. It is argued that the observed differences in the patterns of diffusion require an explanation at the level of societal effects.

National Differences in the Diffusion and Design of Technological Innovation: The Role of Inter‐Organizational Networks

This paper reports results from a study of the design and diffusion of computer‐aided production management (CAPM) technologies across four European countries (UK, France, The Netherlands and Sweden). The study combined surveys of members of professional operations management associations in each of these four countries and interviews with operations managers and technology suppliers (software suppliers and consultants). The findings revealed significant differences across countries in the design and diffusion of CAPM. For example, in the UK and France highly objectified ‘best practice’ technologies, supported by standardized software, had diffused more widely than in Sweden and The Netherlands, where solutions tended to be developed in‐house and customized to the local context. This paper explains these findings in terms of differences in the structure and operation of these four professional association networks. These differences in inter‐organizational networking encouraged different types of knowledge‐sharing related to the design of CAPM in the four countries.

Design for manufacture and assembly on the Internet

The Internet technology has evolved very rapidly over the past few years. Due to its multimedia capability, the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) is the most popular and visible component of the Internet. It is being increasingly used to support various activities of the product development process. This paper is concerned with providing design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) techniques on the Internet. An experiment is conducted to show how a well-known design for assembly (DFA) technique can be converted into a web-based version which is functionally equivalent to its version on a standalone workstation. Four important insights have been gained from the experiment. The web-based client and server architecture is found to be attractive for collaborative DFMA. The client-side web scripting can be exploited to develop generic frameworks for developing and applying different design for X (DFX) techniques, more importantly, in an integrated way. In addition, web-based DFX techniques provide more opportunities for integration with other decision-support systems such as Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) and Computer Aided Production Management (CAPM) in the product realisation process. However, issues such as interactivity and security remain to be addressed.

Planning and scheduling in new computer supported production contexts

New production concepts rely on the active (co-) shaping of planning, control and organisation processes on the shop floor level. Established CAPM technologies (CAPM =Computer Aided Production Management) only provide insufficient support, and a complete automation of the production management is not suited to close this gap. This is why new principles of system design have to be developed which meet various requirements: from taking into account a multidimensionality and contradiction of planning targets and the integration of learning opportunities with the use of systems up to the promotion of work process knowledge.

The development of a method for determining the efficiency and effectiveness of installed CAPM systems

This paper presents work on the design and development of a methodology to evaluate an installed Computer-Aided Production Management (CAPM) system. Such systems, despite their costs of purchase and implementation, find wide application in industry but there is still considerable debate as to their contribution to the overall performance of a company. A variety of possible methodologies has been explored. However, it was found that most of the existing techniques tended to focus on a comparison of systems with respect to best practice or to require data that a company was unlikely to have. A flexible methodology, designed to establish the effectiveness and efficiency of an installed CAPM system has, therefore, been developed. The method employs a Delphi approach and is designed to establish the contribution of the CAPM system to the company's overall competitive position. In its development, a generic CAPM system model was devised which was intended to facilitate the investigation without reference to any particular technology, management mode, or manufacturing control system. The method consists of four stages: stage I establishes the context; stage II determines the underlying architecture of the system; stage III quantifies the contribution to the company's competitive position; and stage IV identifies any problems in the particular CAPM system under scrutiny. The design is such that it enables a systematic investigation of the CAPM system to be completed, the system's contribution to the company to be identified and any inadequacies to be determined. The method was developed in collaboration with a number of companies all of which were experiencing various difficulties with their (different) CAPM systems. The tests revealed that the proposed method provides useful information on the performance of an installed CAPM system. The paper presents the overall structure of the methodology and gives details of the investigation and development in each of the collaborating companies. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Simple systems for computer-aided production management

Future production concepts where workshop employees responsibly carry through planning and scheduling tasks call for new principles ofcomputer-aided production management (CAPM). With the aid of a critical analysis ofdifferent planning and scheduling mechanisms it will first be laid down why the field of computer-aided production management is suited for a dialogue-oriented planning support based on simple models rather than for the objective of automation with the aid of refined optimization algorithms. Consequently, an alternative design is proposed. This is a prototypically realized concept aiming at computer-aided support of production management of production teams.

Maintenance of Manufacturing Databases Used in CAPM Systems

Abstract Data describing shop floor activities should be of good quality to ensure efficient Production Planning and Control. In this purpose, this paper proposes some guidelines to achieve efficient modelling and maintenance of Manufacturing Databases (MDB) used in Computer Aided Production Management (CAPM) systems. Short industrial examples and simulation results illustrate these guidelines and prove that database simplifications are possible without degrading CAPM results significantly.

Development of a computer-aided production management course in industrial engineering curriculum

This paper describes the successful development and demonstration of an integrated computer-aided production management course which is very user-friendly and which facilitates integration of decisions. An icon-menu system that associates icons with the various decision models which were all implemented under the same environment allows students to easily integrate individual decision situations. Decisions were edited and their effect on other decisions confirmed that the hierarchical individual decisions situations in production management need to be integrated. The software developed runs on a personal computer coupled to a projection panel and overhead projector. This arrangement makes it an effective teaching facility for production management.

The Role of Networks In the Diffusion of Technological Innovation*

ABSTRACTThis research considers the diffusion of computer‐aided production management (CAPM) technology in the UK manufacturing sector during the mid to late 1980s, focusing on the role of inter‐organizational networks in the diffusion process. Research on innovation diffusion has tended to adopt a ‘pro‐innovation bias’ such that adoption of prescribed best practice technologies is always considered to be the best policy. In the UK, one particular form of CAPM (MRP/MRPII) has been heavily promoted by technology suppliers as best practice. However, the notion of ‘best practice’ de‐emphasizes the importance of decisions about technology design when users attempt to develop firm‐specific solutions. Crucial to these decisions are the inter‐organizational networks through which potential adopters learn about relevant technologies. Using three case companies, where the introduction of CAPM occurred at approximately the same time, decisions regarding adoption, design and subsequent implementation, are explored in order to establish the influence of inter‐organizational networks on the diffusion and subsequent appropriation of CAPM technologies. These cases revealed that potential adopters engaged in a range of inter‐organizational networks through which they learned about new technologies. However, the knowledge diffused through many of these networks was shaped by technology suppliers who were promoting similar ideas about best practice. Thus, while involvement in inter‐organizational networks gave potential adopters access to information about new technology, this information tended to reinforce supplier images of best practice and did not always lead these firms to develop appropriate technological solutions. Problematic relationships between the suppliers of the technology and the users was seen here to limit the redesign and further diffusion of CAPM.

Exploring Knowledge and Cognitions in Decisions About Technological Innovation: Mapping Managerial Cognitions

Successes and failures with technological innovation can, in some cases, be attributed to the decision-making processes in the user organization. There has been a growing interest among strategy researchers in managerial cognitions. This paper describes the nature and importance of knowledge bases and cognitions for decisions about technological innovation and suggests how knowledge and cognitions can be explored using process research. An example is given from research comparing firms who had tried to adopt computer-aided production management technologies. This research illustrated that knowledge bases provided the potential to innovate but that cognitions of individuals also shaped the outcomes of decisions about the design of the innovation. Cognitive mapping methodologies could be used to explore systematically and in more detail the cognitions of individuals and groups. The paper provides an overview of these methodologies. It concludes that they are useful to researchers, particularly in conjunction with process research, and potentially useful to practitioners, for understanding managerial cognitions and for anticipating problems that may arise as a result of these cognitions.

Making Manufacturing Practices Tacit: A Case Study of Computer-Aided Production Management and Lean Production

The idea that operations in batch repetitive manufacturing can be managed using formal manipulations on representations of the manufacturing practice is at the heart of an approach called Computer-Aided Production Management. It is argued that the plausibility of this approach arises from certain widely held, but now controversial, views about the nature of purposeful human activity, which assume the need for a central representational model. Alternative theories of cognitive activity can be used to clarify the approach of a recently influential group of production management techniques, known as Lean Production, which attempt to use changes to the situation of production as their leverage point. It is claimed that implementation of these ideas depends on rendering desirable practices tacit, and this idea is illustrated using a case study.

Learning by trying: the implementation of configurational technology

In this paper some issues concerning the nature of technological development are examined, with particular reference to a case study of the implementation of Computer Aided Production Management (CAPM). CAPM is an example of a configurational technology, built up to meet specific organizational requirements. It is argued that there is scope in the development of configurations for significant innovation to take place during implementation itself, through a distinctive form of learning by ‘struggling to get it to work’, or ‘learning by trying’. Some policy implications are outlined in conclusion: the need to recognize the creative opportunities available in this type of development, and the need to facilitate industrial sector-based learning processes.

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