Human Factors in Manufacturing Engineering

The trend in manufacturing industry is captured starkly in the following quotation: "Once in place, advanced manufacturing technologies can permanently change the basis of competition in an industry. Advanced technologies can impact either product or processes. Advances in product technology, resulting from expanded features of new materials, can make companies unable to produce new products with their existing manufacturing facilities. As these products replace the current product line, firms who do not upgrade their manufacturing capabilities cannot compete in the marketplace. Advances in process technology enable companies to gain a competitive advantage through excellence in manufacturing." Most of these advances emphasise the importance of engineering technology. There is no question but that engineering technology is at the heart of advanced manufacturing. This workshop addressed the issue of how that technology is to be brought into manufacturing organisations, and how it is to be brought to bear to the benefit of the organisation. The management of manufacturing increasingly makes use of Information Technology, and concomitantly the role of Human Factors has grown. This is due to two critical facts: a) the need to conceive of the organisation as an integrated system, comprising a symbiosis between people and technology; b) organisations are essentially open systems, open to their environments. These environments include government legislation, competitors, clients, suppliers, subcontractors, and so on. This environment is continually changing, and is competitive, so the organisation must continually evolve to meet the challenge from the environment.