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Aspects of automated inspection and control
book reviews
Seeking champions of change Attainin9 Manufacturin9 Excellence by Robert W Hall. Published by Dow Jones~Irwin. 290pp. £28.95. Dramatic change to a system whether the system be mechanical, chemical, economic, political, social, ecological or any one of many others almost always requires a catalyst. Dramatic change also has a more necessary preconditions: the system must be in such a state that change is inevitable, the system is unstable and in the context of social systems that the change is a welcome one. The catalyst's role is then easy: our history of revolutions is very welldocumented. Do the circumstances which prevail in manufacturing industry in the Western world invite dramatic change and, moreover, do those people on whom the success of manufacturing industry depends welcome such change? Most people would answer 'yes' to the first part of this question; the same people would prevaricate if pressed to answer the second part and almost certainly qualify their answers according to management hierarchies, organizational structures and so on. In this book Professor Hall avoids these questions. Not only does he assume that his role is solely
educational, but also that that section of industry which should be educated and presumably catalysed into action is the upper echelons of management and particularly the non-technical manager ... (who may have) a smattering of background in manufacturing. Thus by presenting to such an audience a snapshot of what might be achieved and of the benefits that might be expected, conversion to and promotion of the cause of manufacturing excellence will be accelerated. The book is easy to read. Technical material is at a minimum and large parts of the book, when case study material is introduced, are presented in narrative form. The author emphasizes throughout the crucial role of people in any industry and stresses, using JIT ideology, the need for visibility if the manufacturing system is to be responsive, thus .. promote direct immediate visibility of problems to direct, hands-on people who can take immediate action,
excellence has been attained and presents his reader with an overview of the techniques and attitudes that must be adopted. Apart from the narrative, the book presents nothing that one has not read in journals and books elsewhere• Is the author therefore correct in indentifying a non-technical audience and presenting them with a relatively lightweight text? I think not. Professor Hall is, quite rightly, seeking champions of change. His troops are there already, up to their eyeballs in manufacturing problems, wanting little encouragement other than the go-ahead from their boards of directors. It should be board-level decision making that the author is trying to influence; he should be catalysing action right at the very top of manufacturing industry. His champions of manufacturing excellence have to be found from amongst the chief executives of industry, who may require slightly different material if they are to champion the cause effectively.
•
He quotes widely from Japanese experience where manufacturing
G W SMITH Brunel University
Aspects of automated inspection and control drive for quality improvement in Automated Inspection and Product manufacturing is stimulating much Control: Proc. 8th International Coninterest in this expanding area. ference, 23-25 June 1987, Chicago, Motivations for participating at such USA. Edited by K E McKee. Published by IFS (Publications) Ltd. events include the desire to provide information, and to impress and 374pp. £49.00. This international conference promote specific products. The papers produced 26 papers from the USA, 19 are variable, reflecting the various from Europe (11 from the UK) and 10 i motivations. elsewhere (none from the Far East). The emphasis is on technology The volume will be useful to including computers, interfacing manufacturers of automated protocols, software, CIM, vision inspection equipment, serious users systems, coordinate measuring machines, sensors including touch and potential users of the equipment trigger probes and robotics. and academics• The current strong
Vol 1 No 2 May 1988
The book consists of the reproduction of camera-ready copy from the contributors, consequently illustrations tend to be of poor quality and are mainly of commercial equipment. The specialist reader will not be greatly concerned about this, preferring to have rapid publication of the material. In this sense the book meets a real need but is not an easy read for those wanting a digested view of the subject. C BUTLER Brunel University
!19
Seeking champions of change Attainin9 Manufacturin9 Excellence by Robert W Hall. Published by Dow Jones~Irwin. 290pp. £28.95. Dramatic change to a system whether the system be mechanical, chemical, economic, political, social, ecological or any one of many others almost always requires a catalyst. Dramatic change also has a more necessary preconditions: the system must be in such a state that change is inevitable, the system is unstable and in the context of social systems that the change is a welcome one. The catalyst's role is then easy: our history of revolutions is very welldocumented. Do the circumstances which prevail in manufacturing industry in the Western world invite dramatic change and, moreover, do those people on whom the success of manufacturing industry depends welcome such change? Most people would answer 'yes' to the first part of this question; the same people would prevaricate if pressed to answer the second part and almost certainly qualify their answers according to management hierarchies, organizational structures and so on. In this book Professor Hall avoids these questions. Not only does he assume that his role is solely
educational, but also that that section of industry which should be educated and presumably catalysed into action is the upper echelons of management and particularly the non-technical manager ... (who may have) a smattering of background in manufacturing. Thus by presenting to such an audience a snapshot of what might be achieved and of the benefits that might be expected, conversion to and promotion of the cause of manufacturing excellence will be accelerated. The book is easy to read. Technical material is at a minimum and large parts of the book, when case study material is introduced, are presented in narrative form. The author emphasizes throughout the crucial role of people in any industry and stresses, using JIT ideology, the need for visibility if the manufacturing system is to be responsive, thus .. promote direct immediate visibility of problems to direct, hands-on people who can take immediate action,
excellence has been attained and presents his reader with an overview of the techniques and attitudes that must be adopted. Apart from the narrative, the book presents nothing that one has not read in journals and books elsewhere• Is the author therefore correct in indentifying a non-technical audience and presenting them with a relatively lightweight text? I think not. Professor Hall is, quite rightly, seeking champions of change. His troops are there already, up to their eyeballs in manufacturing problems, wanting little encouragement other than the go-ahead from their boards of directors. It should be board-level decision making that the author is trying to influence; he should be catalysing action right at the very top of manufacturing industry. His champions of manufacturing excellence have to be found from amongst the chief executives of industry, who may require slightly different material if they are to champion the cause effectively.
•
He quotes widely from Japanese experience where manufacturing
G W SMITH Brunel University
Aspects of automated inspection and control drive for quality improvement in Automated Inspection and Product manufacturing is stimulating much Control: Proc. 8th International Coninterest in this expanding area. ference, 23-25 June 1987, Chicago, Motivations for participating at such USA. Edited by K E McKee. Published by IFS (Publications) Ltd. events include the desire to provide information, and to impress and 374pp. £49.00. This international conference promote specific products. The papers produced 26 papers from the USA, 19 are variable, reflecting the various from Europe (11 from the UK) and 10 i motivations. elsewhere (none from the Far East). The emphasis is on technology The volume will be useful to including computers, interfacing manufacturers of automated protocols, software, CIM, vision inspection equipment, serious users systems, coordinate measuring machines, sensors including touch and potential users of the equipment trigger probes and robotics. and academics• The current strong
Vol 1 No 2 May 1988
The book consists of the reproduction of camera-ready copy from the contributors, consequently illustrations tend to be of poor quality and are mainly of commercial equipment. The specialist reader will not be greatly concerned about this, preferring to have rapid publication of the material. In this sense the book meets a real need but is not an easy read for those wanting a digested view of the subject. C BUTLER Brunel University
!19