Abstract
M.Ing.
As the manufacturing environment evolved over the past century, the nature of
investments in manufacturing capabilities changed dramatically. Automation
can be seen as the single biggest driver of this evolution; enabling the
manufacturing fraternity to develop smarter technology in order to exploit the
opportunities that were created by the volatility that exist in most markets. This
lead to the development of flexible manufacturing technology.
Constructing a definition of manufacturing flexibility is difficult mainly due to the
various views and perspectives that exist of flexibility. In short, flexibility can be
defined as the ability to react ( to any change ) with little penalty in time, effort,
cost or performance. These technologies that enable a manufacturing system
to be flexible in a certain manner are generally difficult to justify in terms of
traditional financial yardsticks. This can be contributed to the diverse benefits to
be gained from these investments; and often these benefits are of a nonfinancial
nature.
Furthermore, when reviewing investments in flexible manufacturing technology
within a process environment there appears to be an even bigger problem. The
relatively fixed nature of the design output of process equipment, and the
enormous quantities of capital outlay initially required to erect and commission
process plants, often makes it near impossible to justify any investment that
does not deliver good financial returns within the short term.
Thus it becomes clear that the traditional methods of investment appraisal
within the process environment have become generally unsuitable; and this call
for a re-evaluation of the processes applied to guide value adding investments.
This study set out to deliver a logical approach to appraising investments in
manufacturing flexibility by defining a framework to be applied. The proposed
framework consists of the following 4 primary steps. Firstly the strategic direction followed by the business is defined; then an
analysing of the manufacturing flexibility required is performed. The third step is
to evaluate the manufacturing technology available and furthermore a suitable
performance measured criteria is defined to evaluate the proposed investment.
This model is set within the strategic context of the manufacturing strategy of a
business and thus should ensure the development of manufacturing
capabilities that will ensure business growth over the medium to long term.