Intelligent Manufacturing € November € 1995 € Vol. 1 € No. 11

Imagining the Future of Manufacturing

By David Blanchard
Editor

"Imagine a world in which your business exists in both the physical and the computer world," asked Kathleen Henning, director of planning and operations engineering at Synesis International. "Imagine being able to adjust capacity, add/subtract products, change layouts, alter inventory policies, revise procedures, and test various production scenarios on the computer-based facility prior to modifying your physical operations and without production disruption. And when you make these changes, the computer brings to life an animated facility and runs the proposed operations.

"Imagine this world and you have imagined simulation modeling, the interactive virtual factory that enables companies to effectively make the critical decisions required in today's uncertain business environment."

Henning's imaginings were not just idle speculations on the far-distant future; rather, they were part of the real-world "imagineering" that served as the focus of the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) 38th International Conference held last month in Orlando, Fla. Over 7,000 attendees were on hand to compare notes on where the state-of-the-manufacturing industry stands right now, and where it is rapidly heading.

Based on the evidence at hand at the APICS Conference, adding machine intelligence to manufacturing systems - one of the definitions for what we refer to here as intelligent manufacturing - represents the current wisdom in how to most efficiently automate the entire production process. While Synesis's Henning pointed to simulation and virtual factories as part of the new wave of intelligent manufacturing processes, numerous other speakers as well as vendors on the exhibition floor pointed to equally cutting-edge technologies, such as intelligent supply chain management, expert systems, neural networks, fuzzy logic, and even nanotechnology.


What Is Nanotechnology, Anyway?
Nanotechnology is an outgrowth of the recent interest in molecular engineering. According to Keith Launchbury, president of Keith Launchbury & Associates Inc., "Nanotechnology is the ability to manipulate matter at the atomic and molecular level." In one sense, nanotechnology has been considered a mostly fanciful notion more closely aligned with such science fiction concepts as replication and cloning than with late 20th Century manufacturing. And yet, as Launchbury pointed out, a number of real-world examples already exist.

Tufts Dental School in Boston, for instance, has developed artificial tooth enamel. The goal of this new enamel is to allow "people whose teeth have decayed [to] merely place a piece of nanotech gum in their mouth," Launchbury explained. "It replaces the decayed part of the tooth with new tooth enamel ... and a perfect replica of the missing tooth enamel is recreated."

On a more industrial level, DuPont has developed a new protein called Alpha-4. "This protein can be used by other researchers as a basis for designing molecules, similar to how an integrated circuit designer uses silicone chips as a basis for building circuits," Launchbury said.

Currently, most of the ongoing research and development efforts are being undertaken by the Japanese, he noted. While American manufacturers remain skeptical of nanotechnology, they face the danger of being upstaged once again by Japan.


Better Computers Lead to Better Manufacturing
Thanks to the continually improving performance capabilities of computer workstations and PCs, intelligent computing as applied to manufacturing is no longer just an ivory tower conceit. A group of researchers at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center - Brenda Dietrich, Robin Lougee-Heimer and Thomas Ervolina - put it succinctly: Today's desktop workstations are more powerful than mainframes were just 15 years ago.

In regard to neural networks, for instance, the price/performance ratio has improved by a factor of 10 within the past five years, the IBM Watson group pointed out. Neural networks mimic the way the human mind operates in that these systems learn from experience. Recent industrial uses of neural networks include "quality management, real-time quality control, monitoring and diagnosis, production optimization, advanced control, and dynamic scheduling," according to IBM.

Other intelligent systems technologies that have recently emerged with applications for manufacturers include genetic algorithms, which have been used to solve scheduling, distribution and design problems; and simulation, which has contributed to reduced cycle time, increased throughput, reduced work-in-process (WIP), and calculation of plant capacity.


Adding Multimedia to MRP
One of the unsung benefits of emerging computer technologies is that it has helped breathe new life into formerly cutting-edge systems that may have lost some of their luster. Case-in-point: MRP systems. According to Dean Lane, a partner with AT&T;'s Manufacturing Industry Consulting Practice, adding multimedia techniques to MRP can enhance manufacturing practices in a number of areas.

In the area of warehousing, for instance, "attaching graphics to certain part numbers can facilitate the verification process for personnel," Lane stated. Likewise, voice and video, coupled with a virtual reality helmet display, could greatly enhance training and work instructions, allowing an employee to see an operation being conducted.

Lane did caution against the lure of simply prettying up MRP applications without fully appreciating the various manufacturing processes in question. Common sense coupled with a keen awareness of a company's particular needs are the best determinants of when and where to apply multimedia technology, he observed.


Flat Manufacturing Organizations
Cash Powell, Jr., senior manufacturing consultant at Entek Inc., took a look at how some manufacturers today are shaping the corporate culture that could very well influence all of the industry in the coming years. One of the keys, according to Powell, is in "managing work team implementation in companies in support of the flat organization and a shorter supply chain."

Part of this flat manufacturing scenario involves the concept of partnering, and Powell used a number of different manufacturers as examples in support of this concept. Bose Corp., for instance, involves its customers as partners in a program it refers to as Just-In-Time (JIT) II. Eight material suppliers have offices at Bose's factory, and participate in customer problem-solving, communicating to their home offices the current production schedule, along with near-exact estimates of when material will arrive at a production facility.

Meanwhile, L-S Electro Galvanizing sees its employees as partners, and thanks to flat organization charts and full union involvement, only eight union grievances were filed in the course of eight years. "Trust, respect and dignity" was the company philosophy, Powell reported.

"Seeing the whole business as an entrepreneur sees it may be the overall guiding vision for the associate of the 21st Century," Powell predicted. The key question to ask, he noted, is: How is a manufacturing organization prepared for employee partnership and empowerment? He listed six main issues:

1. Management must develop the concept of the organization and provide the support for its implementation.
2. Employees must accept wider responsibilities, while managers must delegate the day-to-day tasks formerly assigned to supervisors.
3. Management must share information with employees and train them in the use of this information.
4. Management must develop an environment for trust and empowerment.
5. The employees' job responsibilities must expand with empowerment.
6. Some kind of profit-sharing plan must be developed for all employees to ensure that they share in the improvement and well-being of the company.

And indeed, whether it be the application of machine intelligence to manufacturing systems, or the empowerment of well-trained employees, the driving force behind successful manufacturers in this and the next century will be harnessing the corporate knowledge of these firms, and putting that knowledge to its best advantage.