Manufacturing Engineer
Volume 86, Issue 2, April 2007
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Volume 86, Issue 2
April 2007
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- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, page: 2 –2
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070210
- Type: Article
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- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 4 –5
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070211
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- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 6 –7
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070212
- Type: Article
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- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 8 –13
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070213
- Type: Article
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- Author(s): B. Cervi
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 14 –15
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070201
- Type: Article
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Car plants in Britain face an uncertain future, with the potential for more large-scale job losses. The conclusion comes in the report "Success and Failure in the UK Car Manufacturing Industry" published in March 2007 by MPs on the Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee. The report is the result of an inquiry launched by the MPs in the wake of the Ryton and MG Rover announcements that they factories are going to close down. The report concludes that Ryton and Ellesmere Port shared common factors that led to job losses. But, as well as ageing and inflexible plants, supply chain problems and labour costs, the committee identifies an underlying issue for UK car-making - one that will not come as any surprise to the industry - the excess production capacity in areas of the world (including western Europe) where demand is stagnant or falling. Other varied and complex bases for the conclusion are described. - Author(s): K. Allan
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 16 –17
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070202
- Type: Article
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India is becoming a new manufacturing powerhouse. With a growing domestic market and relatively low-cost workers with advanced technical skills, the nation is expected to grow its manufacturing base over the next five to ten years. Today, Indian manufacturing companies in several sectors are targeting global markets and are becoming formidable global competitors. Many are already among the most competitive in their industries. At the same time, the Indian manufacturing sector is also providing opportunities for leading multinational corporations looking to leverage India's manufacturing advantage. For many of these companies, India is a design house, a tooling centre, a components base and/or a manufacturing hub. - Author(s): M. Venables
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 18 –19
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070203
- Type: Article
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Ford can now claim to be one of Europe's most efficient car makers as a result of a spate of efficiency improvements driven by highly efficient production facilities, supplier parks, advanced logistic systems and revised in-plant work arrangements. One of the company's key goals was to improve asset utilisation by bringing capacity in line with demand. Another was to increase production flexibility - adjusting the daily build schedule between models - in order to fulfil customer orders more quickly and respond to changes in consumer demand. Significantly, the manufacturing equipment that allows this flexibility also can be re-programmed to accommodate new models, substantially reducing the investment required when models change. Such flexibility also applies between plants. If demand for a particular vehicle is beyond the capacity of the model's main plant, additional units can be sourced to one of the other flexible plants. Another significant competitive advantage is the provision of a supplier park for each of the company's major assembly plants to deliver major components when and where they are needed for assembly in the vehicle. - Author(s): J.P. Conti
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 20 –23
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070204
- Type: Article
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Machine-to-machine communications (M2M) is expected to have a big impact on the manufacturing industry as companies and their customers begin to realise the benefits. The new pre-emptive dimension introduced by M2M means that manufacturing problems could now be tackled before they occur. This is demonstrated in ABB's M2M pilot project within its robotics business unit. ABB started offering its industrial customers who have one or more robots already operational in their plants, the chance to fit the machines with a wireless communications link for remote monitoring for improved recovery time when there is fault. In cases where the manufactured devices include some form of processing power, embedding M2M functionality directly into the products being manufactured becomes more likely. The main benefit for the companies selling these M2M-embedded products is the chance to introduce a whole new range of services - including financial services related to the products - allowing the manufacturer to become plus-service providers. - Author(s): A. Lamme
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 24 –25
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070205
- Type: Article
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The article describes how next-generation wireless networks could impact the production process. To some extent, next-generation wireless (Wi-NG) is simply a natural progression of existing technology - including RFID, Wi-Fi and WLAN - and a move to interconnect systems using common protocols. It will make use of wireless switching to manage this data and access ports which can create wireless mesh networks. Production process control and depth will be enhanced. Improved fixed/mobile convergence (FMC) will also occur. Additionally in the not-so-distant future, RF switching will extend the convergence of Wi-Fi and RFID to include WiMax, ZigBee, meshed and other wireless technologies. The benefits of such developments are clear. Companies will gain cost savings from unifying their networks, as well as improved efficiency, and easier and more powerful control over the network. Interconnecting systems allows companies to know exactly what they have and where it is, in real time, and with no delay at the junctions between systems. - Author(s): T. James
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 26 –30
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070206
- Type: Article
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Examples of situations where enterprise resource planning (ERP) played a key role in the just-in-time environment of two companies, Silflex and Manthorpe Group, are cited. Silflex, which makes multi-application silicone hoses, used Syspro ERP which fully integrates processes covering sales-order processing MRP, WIP and inventory control. The implementation of the ERP and Preactor APS enables Silflex to effectively plan and optimise the use of all its resources. On the other hand, Manthorpe Group, a precision engineering and building products manufacturer, previously used various legacy software systems for the four separate companies that comprise it. Manthorpe realised that it needed to source a more flexible fully integrated solution. With Infor ERP SyteLine 7, the company got a manufacturing solution with an advanced planning & scheduling engine, offering seamless supply chain synchronisation and dynamic overlaying of estimates. - Author(s): A. Harris
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 32 –35
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070207
- Type: Article
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The need to ensure the safety of the domestic and global food supply has resulted in a rise in both government regulation and brand protection demands from customers. New regulations have come into force that make 'one-up, one-back' traceability mandatory in the UK for all food and drink manufacturers - making automated traceability systems a virtual necessity. The 'one-up, one-back' process involves being able to identify food ingredients at different stages. Traceability is becoming an essential element of modern manufacturing methodologies, and the optimum solution is to make full use of the four cornerstones: individual part identification, direct part marking, code verification, and a searchable database. An integral part of the new food and drink legislation is speed of response - four hours mandated for response time. So, for many food processors, their current challenge is to identify an automated approach to traceability that is both cost-effective and a good fit for their current business operations. - Author(s): S. Davies
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 36 –39
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070208
- Type: Article
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The prime strategic drivers of factory automation are increased productivity, greater visibility and enhanced control. Gilead Sciences, an international biopharmaceutical company, assures consistent product quality and maximises batch yields, by improving manufacturing process efficiency with reactive, real-time pH measurements using the Foxboro 871PH Series sensor. On the other hand, for the complex task of a litho plate packaging, Klikok-Woodman built a packaging machine around the Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture concept using Allen-Bradley control systems. Its ControlLogix controller is fitted with a DeviceNet module which receives the size information of an arriving plate and then adjusts the production system to automatically cope with the arriving plate, elegantly solving the problem of dealing with varying product sizes. - Author(s): R. Moore
- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 40 –45
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070209
- Type: Article
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Manufacturing tools such as total productive maintenance (TPM), reliability centred maintenance (RCM), six sigma and root cause analysis can transform a business but they will not be effective unless the right foundations are in place. These foundations include leadership, alignment, teamwork, innovation, change management, and process mapping. Additionally, the following kaizen principles help make things right: 5S, go and see, 5 whys, applying quick changeovers, and having problem-solving sessions or kaizen events routinely. The foundations and kaizen principles are discussed. - Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, p. 46 –47
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070214
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- Source: Manufacturing Engineer, Volume 86, Issue 2, page: 48 –48
- DOI: 10.1049/me:20070215
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Editorial
Your shout and Letters to the Editor
News in brief
News
Wilting plants [automobile industry]
Indian dawn [Indian manufacturing sector growth]
On a roll [automobile industry]
Smart talk [M2M - machine-to-machine communications]
Wi-NG takes flight [next-generation wireless networks - production processes]
Fingertip control [enterprise resource planning]
Facing up to food scares [food processing industry - legislation]
Building in reliability [factory automation]
Laying the right foundations [manufacturing improvement tools]
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