This volume includes a selection of fully refereed papers which were first presented at the 17th International Conference on Production Research held in August 2003 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. For more than thirty years an ICPR conference has been held every other year, at different venues in all regions of the world, and has brought together researchers to present the latest developments in production engineering and production management. The papers from these conferences, published in the International Journal of Production Research, provide an important reference source of literature on the development of production research since 1971. These developments address not only the explosion of computer-aided technologies for manufacturing and planning, but also the development of new management paradigms and philosophies, and the increasing influence of globalisation on the structure and organisation of industry.
The theme of the 17th ICPR was on enterprise integration from a production perspective. The conference attracted over 300 papers from more than 40 nations addressing such issues as the opportunities which developments in information technologies afford for the design, development and management of integrated production systems; the information systems to support enterprise integration; as well as developments in process technologies, industrial ergonomics and systems modelling and analysis.
The selection of papers presented in this volume address issues in relation to the integration of the extended enterprise, and supply chain planning and control. The use of the latest developments in IT technologies for the virtual planning of manufacturing processes is presented together with advances in computer-aided planning and control. And, in keeping with society's increasing concern for the environment, and industry's commitment to environmentally responsible manufacturing, a number of papers address emerging issues in relation to reverse logistics, product re-manufacturing and material recycling.
The joint themes of sustainable development and the extended enterprise will be taken up at the 18th International Conference on Production Research, which is to be organised by the University of Salerno, Italy, from July 31st to August 4th, 2005Footnote*. The theme of the conference is “The networked enterprise: a challenge for a sustainable development” and delegates from all over the world will again converge to share their ideas and experiences and to present the latest outputs from their research. In the meantime, in the summer of 2004, regional meetings of the International Foundation for Production Research will be held in Europe, South America and the Far East, to promote and support production research networks in addressing emerging manufacturing technologies, and associated management and business developments.
PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHER O’BRIEN
International Foundation for Production Research
Notes
For general information visit the conference web site: http://icpr18.unisa.it or contact via e-mail: [email protected]