Thesis (PhD) -- University of South Australia, 1999

The continued assimilation of advanced computing and information technologies in the workplace in the midst of rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions has led many corporations to transform their corporate culture and structure. These profound changes are implicating corporate functions such as planning, design, manufacturing, and marketing. A significant form of corporate re-structuring has been in the computer and information technology mediated integration of these functions which is sometimes labeled Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). Fundamental questions are provoked regarding the reshaping of these emerging modes and relations of production. Do these developments represent a departure from traditional Taylorist or Fordist workplace operations and organization? Are these emerging modes of work which generally are interwoven with Japanese inspired quality improvement programs and associated manufacturing methods producing a more human-centered workplace? Do these shifts in corporate re-structuring support the possible unfolding of forms of human-centered workplace democracy? To critically inquire and address the above questions, a case study was conducted involving a large manufacturing firm which has been undergoing a radical re-structuring of all its corporate operations. The case study method involves an analysis of the internal discourse(s) and practice(s) of an emerging manufacturing facility called the Factory of the Future (FOF) in the context of a changing corporate culture mediated by computer and information technologies and changing organizational practices. Many sources of information were appropriated to construct a collage of textual material in order to present FOF's unique genealogy and to provide a detailed description of the emerging phenomenon of CIM. Among these were internal documents, videos, and interviews conducted with factory and office workers. Based on a critical interpretation of the case study findings a number of provisional conclusions were reached and may be summarized as follows: • Certain neo-Taylorist and neo-Fordist modes of production are emerging both in the factory and office as the transformation of the corporation proceeds toward a CIM mode of operation. • More human-centered organizational practices have marked the changing corporate culture although they are at times subject to conflicts and contradictions. • Managerial power has grown in the midst of computer and information mediated systems, even though worker participation and involvement in work related decisions has also been enhanced.

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In this thesis the author describes the design and operation of a learning environment aimed at imparting technical, technological and managerial knowledge, developing understanding of the underlying issues and enhancing team work skills for an advanced technology future. He offers an analysis of learning, education and training and compares group work with individual tasks, presents a major case study and illustrates the features which distinguish the approach from role play, simulation and experiential learning. When staff at Brunel University were faced with the problem of teaching Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) to engineering students on thin sandwich type undergraduate degree programmes the writer suggested the use of an approach he would later describe as 'practice based learning' or 'real life simulation'. The fourth year course in CIM is designed as a double option for the complementary undergraduate courses, Brunel Manufacturing Engineering (BME) and Special Engineering Programmes (SEP). It is an extension of the Manufacturing Design and Practice course in years one to three of the BME course and of the Design strand on SEP, both of which restrict students' work to the use of individual machine tools and stand alone computing facilities. A wide range of teaching methods is used on the CIM course, including lectures by course staff, presentations by experts and, as the major element, a large group project involving all the students on the course, organised in a management matrix, coordinated by the students and supported by the staff acting as experts. The students also undertake assignment work alongside the technical tasks, to focus their thinking and to improve written communication skills. While the course described cannot replace more than a small proportion of the more conventional lecture, laboratory and tutorial teaching on an engineering programme, it provides a setting where students can experiment and learn about their own strengths and weaknesses in a realistic situation and in the context of teamwork. It also offers a space where they can make quite serious mistakes without direct consequences to their careers. The experience of seven years leads the author to believe that advanced manufacturing technologies and the associated management techniques should be taught in a project based environment with clear and real targets and realistic constraints, offering students challenges to which they can only rise through close and creative team work. The management of task execution must be left largely in the students' own hands. A high level of "consultant" type support is essential though, allied to an assessment scheme which promises and ensures fair treatment of the individual. The different parts of the thesis will be relevant to readers depending on their interest and background. Chapter 1 sets the scene and outlines the approach taken. Following this broad outline of the scope of the dissertation the author places Computer Integrated Manufacturing in a wider context in chapter 2, by providing an introduction to the underlying issues of computer integration and human factors. He puts forward a case for new approaches to the education and training of engineers and managers who will be working in Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing Environments in general. Chapter 3 is devoted to the management of projects while chapter 4 is used to question the role of the engineer. Chapters 5 and 6 provide an introduction to theories of knowledge, teaching, learning and motivation. Chapters 7 and 8 are devoted to particular aspects of engineering education, while chapter 9 reviews the approach used at Brunel University. The topical issues of competence and its relevance to engineering education is discussed in chapter 10, leading into chapters 11 and 12 which deal with aspects of the CIM course. Chapters 13 and 14 are devoted to case-studies and particular tools. The key question of assessment of a practice oriented and team based course is addressed in chapter 15, followed by an evaluation of the CIM process and its application to engineering education of a full time nature which is included in chapters 17 and 18.

This thesis examines the relevance of current cost accounting systems to the manufacturing environment. Egyptian manufacturing companies in the ex-public industrial sector have suffered from relatively various obstacles, with problems in production planning and control in particular. These impediments were responsible for negative effects on costs and caused low profitability for these companies in most years. Cost accounting systems were basically established for the purpose of preparing financial statements not for operational control.The literature was reviewed to explore changes in the manufacturing environment with emphasis on the developments in production planning and control systems and also to investigate the developments in cost accounting systems.To examine this research phenomenon empirically, a case study was conducted in an Egyptian EI-Nasr automotive manufacturing company. Data was collected from published and unpublished reports and by semi-structured interviews within the case company.The thesis is divided into two main parts: Part I to cover the literature review in this area. Part II for the case study analysis. The study covered three major areas of analysis. First is an overview of all factors which shape the old and new manufacturing environments and the developments in the systems of production planning and control. Second is a detailed investigation of the traditional and new cost accounting systems. Third is the main findings and conclusion including exposing the relationship between the different planning and control systems and the various cost accounting systems. It also includes a wide range of suggestions for improving the cost accounting systems of the studied case company.The major findings of this study were that manufacturing environment played a significant role in designing cost accounting systems. It concluded that planning capabilities of the company and suppliers play a significant role in the process of cost reduction and improve the competitive position.

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Over the last thirty years, Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) based systems have become commonplace within batch manufacturing environments, but are still widely held to be under performing. This research hypothesises that there may be inherent problems associated with the application due to uncertainties that exist within dynamic operating environments. Research has highlighted both the absence of any business model that uses a structured and systematic approach to deal with uncertainty holistically and the lack of any widely used, consistent performance measures to allow comparison of research results. The industrial need for such a holistic approach became apparent from survey work, which showed MRP under-performed in the presence of uncertainty even when numerous Buffering and Dampening (BAD) approaches were applied. A business model of uncertainty that structures the causes and effects of uncertainty as a hierarchy of four levels has been proposed, to be verified and validated through industrial survey and simulation respectively. The relationship between causes and effects in the business model has been verified from survey results using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), which identified twenty-three significant uncertainties within Mixed-Mode (MM) operating environments. Using a multi-product, multi-level dependent demand MRP simulation model within an MM operating environment driven by planned order release, an experimental programme has been carried out that showed finished products delivered late to be insensitive as a performance measure. Parts Delivered Late (PDL) was found to be more sensitive and has been adopted as the preferred measure. ANOVA on the simulation results validated the cause-and-effect relationships, showing that the higher the level of uncertainty, the worse was delivery performance. Individual uncertainties produced effects that were not discretely recognised in the literature. `Knock-on' effects are created by uncertainties delaying the issue of batches and affected particular Bill of Materials chains. `Compound' effects are caused by uncertainties affecting resource availability and also induced consequent knock-on effects. Simulation results also showed that late deliveries from suppliers, machine breakdowns, unexpected or urgent changes to schedules affecting machines and customer design changes are the most significant uncertainties within the parameter levels modelled. Several significant two-way and three-way interactions were found. The business model of uncertainty represents a practical and pragmatic attempt to act as a diagnostic tool to identify significant underlying causes affecting PDL for MM companies using MR1, enabling more effective application of suitable BAD approaches. Using the business model to drive a continuous improvement programme that monitored both levels of uncertainty and PDL would allow internal and external benchmarking for the efficacy of BAD approaches and for the reduction of uncertainties.