Production in the factory of the future

Abstract

What does the future hold for manufacturing industries? There is much discussion of the general decline of smokestack industries worldwide with some notable exceptions. These exceptions sought manufacturing efficiency improvements in order of magnitude higher than previously achieved. It is now clear that the future belongs to the factory with computer technology at its core. Production in a computer supported factory is very different. The support functions and the factory itself operate like a well-oiled machine. This paper shows where manufacturing is headed and the changes needed in management practices to make automated, computerized manufacturing possible.