Economic And Financial Justification Of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

Competence in investment analysis is now a basic requirement for most practicing managers, engineers, and financial analysts in order to avoid possible serious mistakes arising from flawed or inadequate knowledge of the discipline. Furthermore, individuals who make decisions based on technical economics stake their professional futures, in many cases, on the accuracy of such evaluations. The aim of this volume is to provide a balanced view of the essential components of economic and financial analysis including: 1. Strategic and design issues; 2. Principles of cost management systems and activity-based costing, and; 3. Tools for developing the financial measures of investment worth, with advanced topics and case studies in these three areas.This volume provides a refreshing insight into the various methods that engineers, managers, and financial analysts may need to consider to find good alternatives for the investment of scarce resources. Not only are new ventures presented, but also improvements within existing facilities that include process modification, product design, equipment replacement, and plant expansion/contraction.

Towards the end of 1983, the Advisory Council for Applied Research and Development (ACARD) published a report giving the findings of a working group which had been set up to study the factors which inhibited or supported the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) in engineering manufacture. Prominent amongst their findings was that, up to that time, 'appraisal of investment in AMT on a short-term financial basis was not entirely adequate' and that 'the conventional approach to financial appraisal techniques, directed towards an early return on capital invested, may be inappropriate'. Today, over three years later, advanced manufacturing technology is more widely recognised and is providing a proven solution to survival and growth for manufacturers. However, many medium-and small-size companies are still finding great difficulty in the evaluation and justification of investment in this vital area. The Institution of Production Engineers therefore set up a special joint working party with The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants to follow up the ACARD report, with the objective of examining the whole area of the justification of investment in advanced manufacturing technology.

Towards the end of 1983, the Advisory Council for Applied Research and Development (ACARD) published a report giving the findings of a working group which had been set up to study the factors which inhibited or supported the introduction of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) in engineering manufacture. Prominent amongst their findings was that, up to that time, 'appraisal of investment in AMT on a short-term financial basis was not entirely adequate' and that 'the conventional approach to financial appraisal techniques, directed towards an early return on capital invested, may be inappropriate'. Today, over three years later, advanced manufacturing technology is more widely recognised and is providing a proven solution to survival and growth for manufacturers. However, many medium-and small-size companies are still finding great difficulty in the evaluation and justification of investment in this vital area. The Institution of Production Engineers therefore set up a special joint working party with The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants to follow up the ACARD report, with the objective of examining the whole area of the justification of investment in advanced manufacturing technology.

The 1980s have witnessed a tremendous growth in the field of computer integrated manufacturing systems. The other major areas of development have been computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, industrial robotics, automated assembly, cellular and modular material handling, computer networking and office automation to name just a few. These new technologies are generally capital intensive and do not conform to traditional cost structures. The net result is a tremendous change in the way costs should be estimated and economic analyses performed. The majority of existing engineering economy texts still profess application of traditional analysis methods. But, as was men tioned above, it is clear that the basic trend in manufacturing industries is itself changing. So it is quite obvious that the practice of traditional economic analysis methods should change too. This book is an attempt to address the various issues associated with non-traditional methods for evaluation of advanced computer-integrated technologies. This volume consists of twenty refereed articles which are grouped into five parts. Part one, Economic Justification Methods, consists of six articles. In the first paper, Soni et at. present a new classification for economic justification methods for advanced automated manufacturing systems. In the second, Henghold and LeClair look at strengths and weaknesses of expert systems in general and more specifically, an ap plication aimed at investment justification in advanced technology. The third paper, by Carrasco and Lee, proposes an enhanced economic methodology to improve the needs analysis, conceptual design and de tailed design activities associated with technology modernization.

First published in 1998, this volume was designed to lead to an operational model of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) decision making which incorporated the mathematics of fuzzy set theory. The rapid advancement of robotics, automated technologies and software such as CAD and CAM have made such studies paramount. Here, analyses of a questionnaire survey and field study of major UK manufacturing companies together provide a simulating portrayal of AMT investment decision making and have been expanded upon with a model using fuzzy set theory.

First published in 1998, this volume was designed to lead to an operational model of Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) decision making which incorporated the mathematics of fuzzy set theory. The rapid advancement of robotics, automated technologies and software such as CAD and CAM have made such studies paramount. Here, analyses of a questionnaire survey and field study of major UK manufacturing companies together provide a simulating portrayal of AMT investment decision making and have been expanded upon with a model using fuzzy set theory.

This text illuminates the contemporary issues and technologies related to the economic evaluation and justification of advanced technologies. Included are modern tools, as well as application-based cases that demonstrate the use of these tools. Students, researchers and decision makers will benefit from this useful resource.