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Technology not the ultimate panacea
book reviews Technology not the ultimate panacea The New Manufacturing: Minimal IT for Maximum Profit. Special Report No. 1171 by Simon Caulkin and Ingersoll Engineers. Published by The Economist and Computer Weekly, UK. 116pp. £245.00. It is difficult to avoid the suspicion that this 'special report' (a special report is like a book but costs more £245 in this case, for 116 pages) will be remembered not so much for its content, which is in fact rather interesting, but for the way it marks the time when the tide of belief in technological omnipotence finally turned. Technology, especially information based, is treated not as the inevitable driving force behind manufacturing progress for the foreseeable future, but rather as an optional investment to be considered only after the basic 'methodologies' of manufacture have been sorted out. In this post-technological age, the 'emphasis switches from the technology itself to what you do with it'. Yet this report is more than a milestone in manufacturing fashion. It is certainly a reappraisal of the
changing nature of information technology in manufacturing, but it should not be taken as part of a crude antitechnology backlash. Though, of course, it is packed with all the current catch phrases of manufacturing, 'time based competition', 'the demise of the manufacturing trade-off', 'manufacturing is not a cost but a resource' and in this it catches the mood of its time perfectly. But underneath the slick writing, catch phrasing and carefully wielded case examples, the central messages of this report are both serious and important. They are that manufacturing should be regarded not as a cost centre but as a source of competitive advantage, that technology is the servant not the master in improving manufacturing performance and that 'information' is the key strategic tool for effecting improvement and without organizational skills no company can hope to exploit technology to its competitive advantage. The underlying message though is even more important all companies must eventually look to their own resources to effect
improvement. They can learn from the experience of others but in the end they must find their own manufacturing salvation. None of these messages are new. In fact, in terms of presenting novel or newly interpreted facts, this 'report' is really a book! It could equally have been published as a book at less than a tenth of the price (the interesting question then is, would we have taken as much notice of it?). Nevertheless the material is not worse for this, it is all relevant and brought together in an eminently readable way. The major criticism of this report is that it fails to push its arguments to the point where they could constitute useful practical advice. One is too often left asking, ' S o . . . ?' Without necessarily asking for prescriptions, it is not unreasonable to expect a few more direct suggestions as to how these new manufacturing philosophies can actually be made to happen. Now that really would be a 'report'! N I G E L SLACK Brunel University
Human factors need more study The Human Side of Factory Automation by Ann Majchrzak. Published by Jossey-Bass Inc. 390pp. £29.95. Human factors as a principal part of strategies for the design and implementation of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) are emerging as not only something worthy of study, but also as a topic where industrialists may finally have to admit that those whom they have denounced as sociologists, psychologists etc. insulated from the real (manufacturing) world may really have something: they may even have put their finger on one of the principal reasons why AMT has not taken off as one might have hoped. A technocentric approach is not sufficient; it does not provide the answers. Let us hope that we are present when Taylorist, Fordist attitudes are finally committed to the ground 'the good
188
deeds are oft interred with their bones...' Ann Majchrzak has written a more than creditable book, which presents a soundly researched resum6 of the current awareness of the multitude of problems which those responsible for the design and implementation of advanced manufacturing systems should be prepared, first, to acknowledge and, second, for which they must provide a means for their solution, within whatever strategies they choose to adopt. The book also details the Human Infrastructure Impact Statement (HIIS). This is a tool which provides a means for a systematized solution of a problem, the initial definition of which must always be vague. We can look forward to much more detailed case studies which demonstrate its use.
The book should have a wide audience. It must appeal to all those who are involved in or considering implementing AMT; it is essential reading for those whose expectations have not been realized because of a set of problems of which they were unaware; it should also be read by those whose livelihoods and life is to be affected by such changes. If a more fundamentally systems-based approach is to be developed, if during the next year or so methodologies are established which provide a total approach to a problem rather than a blinkered technocentric evaluation, they must not be regarded as an extension to a set of management tools. An effective dialogue can only be the result of active participation by all those involved. G W SMITH Brunel University
Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Systems
changing nature of information technology in manufacturing, but it should not be taken as part of a crude antitechnology backlash. Though, of course, it is packed with all the current catch phrases of manufacturing, 'time based competition', 'the demise of the manufacturing trade-off', 'manufacturing is not a cost but a resource' and in this it catches the mood of its time perfectly. But underneath the slick writing, catch phrasing and carefully wielded case examples, the central messages of this report are both serious and important. They are that manufacturing should be regarded not as a cost centre but as a source of competitive advantage, that technology is the servant not the master in improving manufacturing performance and that 'information' is the key strategic tool for effecting improvement and without organizational skills no company can hope to exploit technology to its competitive advantage. The underlying message though is even more important all companies must eventually look to their own resources to effect
improvement. They can learn from the experience of others but in the end they must find their own manufacturing salvation. None of these messages are new. In fact, in terms of presenting novel or newly interpreted facts, this 'report' is really a book! It could equally have been published as a book at less than a tenth of the price (the interesting question then is, would we have taken as much notice of it?). Nevertheless the material is not worse for this, it is all relevant and brought together in an eminently readable way. The major criticism of this report is that it fails to push its arguments to the point where they could constitute useful practical advice. One is too often left asking, ' S o . . . ?' Without necessarily asking for prescriptions, it is not unreasonable to expect a few more direct suggestions as to how these new manufacturing philosophies can actually be made to happen. Now that really would be a 'report'! N I G E L SLACK Brunel University
Human factors need more study The Human Side of Factory Automation by Ann Majchrzak. Published by Jossey-Bass Inc. 390pp. £29.95. Human factors as a principal part of strategies for the design and implementation of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) are emerging as not only something worthy of study, but also as a topic where industrialists may finally have to admit that those whom they have denounced as sociologists, psychologists etc. insulated from the real (manufacturing) world may really have something: they may even have put their finger on one of the principal reasons why AMT has not taken off as one might have hoped. A technocentric approach is not sufficient; it does not provide the answers. Let us hope that we are present when Taylorist, Fordist attitudes are finally committed to the ground 'the good
188
deeds are oft interred with their bones...' Ann Majchrzak has written a more than creditable book, which presents a soundly researched resum6 of the current awareness of the multitude of problems which those responsible for the design and implementation of advanced manufacturing systems should be prepared, first, to acknowledge and, second, for which they must provide a means for their solution, within whatever strategies they choose to adopt. The book also details the Human Infrastructure Impact Statement (HIIS). This is a tool which provides a means for a systematized solution of a problem, the initial definition of which must always be vague. We can look forward to much more detailed case studies which demonstrate its use.
The book should have a wide audience. It must appeal to all those who are involved in or considering implementing AMT; it is essential reading for those whose expectations have not been realized because of a set of problems of which they were unaware; it should also be read by those whose livelihoods and life is to be affected by such changes. If a more fundamentally systems-based approach is to be developed, if during the next year or so methodologies are established which provide a total approach to a problem rather than a blinkered technocentric evaluation, they must not be regarded as an extension to a set of management tools. An effective dialogue can only be the result of active participation by all those involved. G W SMITH Brunel University
Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Systems