TOPIC 1 : A Distributed Approach for the Production Flow Control of Interconnected Flezible Manufacturing Systems A dynamic production control policy was developed for interconnected flexible manufacturing systems with stochastic capacity. The objective is to track a desired production rate target in a Just-In-Time manner by minimizing the average production surplus and backlog. The production rate target or demand was assumed to be piecewise constant with respect to time. A 'Manufacturing Flow Control' model was used to allocate dynamically available capacity to the production of various part types. The approach used was distributed, as the production rate at each work cell was scheduled on the basis of local information containing the current inventory level of the adjacent buffers and the present state of the work cell (number of up/down machines). TOPIC 2: Single Run Optimization in Discrete Event Simulations of Manufacturing Systems A new technique was devised to optimize the controllable parameters ( eg. buffer size, batch size, routing proportions, production rate etc.) of stochastic manufacturing systems in a single simulation run. Pertubation Analysis methods were used to estimate the derivatives in a single simulation run of the system model. In addition, a Sequential Hypothesis Testing approach was used to update the parameters on line, as the simulation was running. This algorithm is not only computationally inexpensive but also has the inherent property of escaping from poor local optima.

Measurability in production is a cornerstone in all production, but to determine if chosen key performance indicators (KPI’s) are right and in the right amount, to be of help in the daily work, is a challenge. In materials supply processes, there are in some companies not easy to manage KPI’s, resulting in the end in overcapacity in different areas. The question is whether this is acceptable, or if it is a source of cost that has significant improvement potential? In many companies, you do not really know, since there is a lack of facts to draw conclusions from. Today materials supply is becoming more and more in focus within production development with many theses and ongoing research and development projects. In global companies, management has recognized the importance of the development of this area with new methods and routines for production improvements in the materials supply area. In this thesis, the author will try to deal with these challenges and give the reader some proposals and solutions. The first area is KPI’s and the author proposes some measurements to be used in the daily work within materials supply. The second area in the thesis is to develop guidelines for materials supply concepts to be used in different types of production set-ups. The author has made several case studies, in one case company as well as in three reference companies, as well as literature and document studies. / PREPARE

<p>Measurability in production is a cornerstone in all production, but to determine if chosen key performance indicators (KPI’s) are right and in the right amount, to be of help in the daily work, is a challenge. In materials supply processes, there are in some companies not easy to manage KPI’s, resulting in the end in overcapacity in different areas. The question is whether this is acceptable, or if it is a source of cost that has significant improvement potential? In many companies, you do not really know, since there is a lack of facts to draw conclusions from.</p><p>Today materials supply is becoming more and more in focus within production development with many theses and ongoing research and development projects. In global companies, management has recognized the importance of the development of this area with new methods and routines for production improvements in the materials supply area.</p><p>In this thesis, the author will try to deal with these challenges and give the reader some proposals and solutions. The first area is KPI’s and the author proposes some measurements to be used in the daily work within materials supply. The second area in the thesis is to develop guidelines for materials supply concepts to be used in different types of production set-ups.</p><p>The author has made several case studies, in one case company as well as in three reference companies, as well as literature and document studies.</p> / PREPARE

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This Thesis reports on the principles and usefulness of Performance Rating as developed by the writer over a number of years. In Part one a brief analysis is made of the Quality scene and its development up to the present. The need is exposed for Performance Rating as a tool for all areas of management*. At the same time a system of Quality Control is described which the writer has further developed under the title of 'Operator Control'. This system is based on the integration of all Quality control functions with the creative functions required for Quality achievement. The discussions are mainly focussed on the general philosophy of Quality, its creation and control and that part of Operator Control which affects Performance Rating. Whereas it is shown that the combination of Operator Control and Performance Rating is both economically and technically advantageous, Performance Rating can also usefully be applied under inspection control conditions. Part two describes the principles of Area Performance Rating. *The need for, and the advantages of, Performance Rating are particularly demonstrated in Case study No.1. From this a summation expression is derived which gives the key for grouping of areas with similar Performance Rating (P). A model is devised on which the theory is demonstrated. Relevant case studies, carried out in practice in factories are quoted in Part two, Chapter 4, one written by the Quality manager of that particular factory. Particular stress is laid in the final conclusions on management's function in the Quality field and how greatly this function is eased and improved through the introduction of Area Performance Rating.

This thesis describes the history of robots and explains the reasons for the international differences in robot '. diffusion, and the differences in the diffusion of various iobot applications with reference to the UK. As opposed to most of the literature, diffusion is examined with an integrated and interdisciplinary perspective. Robot technology evolves from the interaction of development, supply and manufacture, adoption, and promOtion. activities. Emphasis is given to the analysis of adoption, at present the most important limiting factor of robot advancement in the UK. Technical development is inferred from a comp'arison of surveys on equipment, and from the topics of ten years of symposia papers. This classification of papers is also used to highlight the international and institutional differences in robot development. Analysis of the growth in robot supply, manufacture, and use is made from statistics compiled. A series of interviews with users and potential users serves to illustrate the factors and implications of the adoption of different robot systems in the UK. Adoption pioneering takes place when several conditions exist: when the technology is compatible with the firm, when its advantages outweigh its disadvantages, and particularly when a climate exists which encourages the managerial involvement and the labour acceptance. The degree of compatibility (technical, methodological, organisational, and economic) and the consequences (profitability, labour impacts, and managerial effects) of different robot systems (transfer, manipulative, processing, and assembly) are determined by various aspects of manufacturing operations (complexity, automation, integration, labour tasks, and working conditions). The climate for adoption pioneering is basically determined by the performance of firms. The firms' policies on capital investment have as decisive a role in determining the profitability of robots as their total labour costs. The performance of the motor car industry and its machine builders explains, more than any other factor, the present state of robot advancement in the UK.

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Government regulation of industrial hazards is examined in the context of the economic and technical processes of industrial development. Technical problems and costs of control are considered as factors in both the formation and impact of regulation. This thesis focuses on an historical case-study of the regulation of the hazard to painting workers from the use of lead pigments in paint. A regulatory strategy based on the prohibition of lead paints gained initial acceptance within the British state in 1911, but was subsequently rejected in favour of a strategy that allowed continued use of lead paint subject to hygiene precautions. The development of paint technology and its determinants, including concern about health hazards, are analysed, focusing on the innovation and diffusion into the paint industry of the major white pigments: white lead (PbC03 .PB(OH)2)and its substitutes. The process of regulatory development is examined, and the protracted and polarised regulatory d~bate contrasted to the prevailing 'consensual' methods of workplace regulation. The rejection of prohibition is analysed in terms of the different political and technical resources of those groups in conflict over this policy. This highlights the problems of consensus formation around such a strategy, and demonstrates certain constraints on state regulatory activity, particularly regarding industrial development. Member-states of the International Labour Organisation agreed to introduce partial prohibition of lead paint in 1921. Whether this was implemented is related to the economic importance of lead and non-lead metal and pigment industries to a nation. An analysis is made of the control of lead poisoning. The rate of control is related to the economic and technological trajectory of the regulated industry. Technical and organisational characteristics are considered as well as regulatory factors which range from voluntary compliance and informal pressures to direct legal requirements. The implications of this case-study for the analysis of the development and impacts of regulation are assessed.