Journal of Manufacturing Systems Vol. 16/No. 3 1997

BOOK REVIEW I I

The Management of Technology: Perception and Opportunities

Paul Lowe, author © 1995 Chapman & Hall, 358 pp., $64.50

Paul Lowe's purpose with this book, The Management of Technology: Perception and Opportunities, is insight into the management of technology in industry and how it affects the economy. Most of the book deals with the effect of tech- nology in the United Kingdom. From Lowe's point of view, effectively managing technology is the key to success.

Nature of Technology (Chapters 1-3). The focus of the first part of the book is on the concept, nature, and con- stituents of technology. Chapter 1 discusses the history of technology and how it differs from science and industrial crafts. Technological change is the main topic in Chapter 2, giving the foundation for the entire book. Economic aspects, which drive technological advancement, are covered in Chapter 3.

Management of Technology (Chapters 4-15). The majori- ty of the book, part two, covers the importance and rele- vance of technology. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with technolog- ical strategy and its inputs of assessment and forecasting. The realization of new technology and its key constituents of R&D (research and development) and DDMM (develop- ment, design, manufacturing input, and marketing input) are discussed in Chapter 6. Chapter 7 covers the adoption of new technology and the problems that arise in its imple- mentation. Project management is dealt with in Chapter 8. Chapters 9 and 10 focus on the investment and accounting for the new technology. Chapter 11 discusses appropriate technology and states that it must be value-added. The deci- sion of a company to buy new technology or to build it is discussed in Chapter 12. The learning processes of technol- ogy are explained in Chapter 13, Chapter 14 focuses on the interaction between standards and technology, and Chapter 15 is concerned with the role of technology in securing and maintaining an advantage over the competition.

Technology and Government (Chapter 16). Part three's one chapter deals with the function of government where technology is concerned. For a country to be competitive, its government must establish objectives and strategies to be integrated with other policies.

This book is good reading for industrial engineers and technologists; however, I find it to be too in-depth for the general public. Industrial managers should read this book because to be competitive in the future they will have to develop new technology. The book focuses on the main

aspects to consider for successful management of future technology.

Heather Manning, senior ISE student Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering Pierre Ladet and Francois Vernadat, editors © 1995 Chapman & Hall, 300 pp., $109.95

Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering is a com- panion book to Enterprise Modeling and Integration Principles and Applications. The book is a collection of 20 technical papers by various authors organized into eight dis- tinct parts. Presented are advanced topics on manufacturing systems modeling, specification, and integration as a contri- bution to an emerging discipline called Enterprise Engineering.

Part one introduces the issues and challenges facing inte- grated manufacturing systems engineering and reviews the different aspects of Enterprise Engineering. Part two dis- cusses the emergence of the Extended Enterprise concept and how manufacturing companies must respond to certain difficulties by thinking in terms of the Extended Enterprise. The next part introduces CIMOSA (open system architec- ture for computer-integrated manufacturing) as a tool for process-based enterprise modeling. Examples are provided from a project at the FIAT auto division. Part four introduces business process modeling and covers tools and techniques for modeling and analysis.

The fifth part of the book focuses on the specification of the system and how to model it in a more formal manner. The subject matter becomes very technical in this section, with examples of interflow systems for manufacturing and equations of slow dynamics. Part six is more technical still, with the introduction and explanation of a new tool for man- ufacturing system analysis called Generalized and Synchronized Stochastic Petri Nets. Part seven deals with the coordination and integration approaches for computer- integrated manufacturing. The last part deals with pre-nor- mative and standardization issues in enterprise modeling and integration.

The book achieves its goal of presenting advanced topics on manufacturing system modeling, specification, and inte- gration. It explains the concepts of the Extended Enterprise and Enterprise Engineering and tells how the modeling tech- niques contribute to Enterprise Engineering. The book is technical in nature and would serve the experienced manu-

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book review I

facturing systems analyst well for thorough explanations and descriptions of various advanced modeling concepts and techniques. However, for those newly introduced to manu- facturing systems modeling, the concepts are difficult to grasp, and thus beginning manufacturing systems analysts will find the majority of the subject matter "over their head." The introductions of the Extended Enterprise and Enterprise Engineering, though, are very useful.

Neal Watts, Auburn University ISE graduate Alexander City, Alabama

The New Manufacturing Engineer Michael J. Termini, author © 1996 Society of Manufacturing $45 ($39, SME members)

Engineers, 320 pp.,

The New Manufacturing Engineer gives a step-by-step account of how to function in the new age of manufacturing. This book shows the practicing engineer the procedures for moving toward the 21st century. In early manufacturing times, ideas of mass quantities prevailed, but today's manu- facturing engineer must be responsive to customer needs. The world has shifted from mass production to lean produc- tion and is embarking on the next plateau of agile manufac- turing. More than ever, time will be the most important resource in almost every industry as levels of competition increase. The product design lifecycle is a critical part of the timeline that will determine a company's success or failure. Concurrent engineering is another step in the process, where all functional disciplines in the organization that contribute to design, purchasing, production, distribution, and sales perform their tasks simultaneously rather than sequentially.

The author describes a set &hats the New Manufacturing Engineer must wear: operations strategist, business strate- gist, technological visionary, project manager, team leader, and educator and trainer.

Chapters 2 and 3 discuss the importance of reacting to changing customer requirements. This requires concurrent action to shorten the product development lifecycle. The chapters also discuss the elimination of waste in the general scheme, such as from the cumbersome Engineering Change Notice (ECN) system.

Core Process Reengineering is the topic of Chapter 4. To reengineer the core process is to start over and design a sys- tem from the ground up. No matter how good your employ- ees are, if the system is poor then it will almost always fail. Large and small companies have seen significant gains in

quality and reductions in cycle time, lead time, and costs due to reengineering. The author includes a good guideline of steps to begin process reengineering.

Chapter 5 discusses the fundamentals of quality design. The problem of poor quality is often blamed on poor design, but sometimes it is because the engineering staff does not know the capabilities of the manufacturing system. It is the responsibility of the manufacturing engineer to provide such information.

Setup reduction is covered in Chapter 6. Large batch sizes due to lengthy setup times are a roadblock to becom- ing a lean and eventually agile producer. The author gives a systematic approach to reengineering the setup process. He also provides useful charts to organize the setup design change. The important topic of employee ownership of ideas recognizes that resistance to change will always be present, but steps can be taken to minimize it through employee involvement.

Project management is the topic of Chapter 7. The New Manufacturing Engineer will have to facilitate project teams, using developed people skills to move a diverse group of individuals toward established goals.

Chapter 8 discusses management of the supply chain. The author gives a detailed list of questions and checklists to use when assessing the capabilities of a prospective supplier.

Overall, this book-- especially its lists and charts-- pro- vides an indispensable reference manual for the practicing engineer for the 21 st century. Although some of the concepts in the book, such as kanban, are not clearly explained for the average reader, students at the senior or graduate level will find the book helpful as they embark on their careers.

Craig Tindle, senior ISE student Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

Quick Changeover for Operators: The SMED System Productivity Press Development Team © 1996 Productivity Press, 77 pp.

Quick Changeover for Operators: The SMED System is based on Shiego Shingo's book entitled A Revolution in Manufacturing: The SMED System and presents some of Dr. Shingo's main concepts and tools in a shorter, more simpli- fied form to aid operators and shop floor personnel in imple- menting the SMED system. The writers realize that operator involvement is an important part of implementing the SMED system. If operators understand the system and can contribute, the probability of success increases.

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