An information system for operations management: co‐ordination and integration
| Date | 01 December 1998 |
| Published date | 01 December 1998 |
| Pages | 356-361 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635579810246471 |
| Author | Victor Portougal,Lech J. Janczewski |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
[ 356 ]
Industrial Management &
Data Systems
98/8 [1998] 356–361
© MCB University Press
[ISSN 0263-5577]
An information system for operations management:
co-ordination and integration
Victor Portougal
The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Lech J. Janczewski
The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Wide implementation of
computer-based operations
management systems now
faces a new information
problem. In many manufac-
turing companies the man-
agement system consists of
several disconnected subsys-
tems. Each subsystem uses
its own database, which is
physically situated in a PC of
a specific manager. Each
subsystem represents one or
several managerial problems,
which are being solved regu-
larly at given intervals of
time. The multiple data trans-
fers between the databases
are performed manually, and
this reduces the efficiency of
the system and the possibili-
ties for its development.
Implementation of file servers
only place databases under
one roof but does not auto-
matically provide transfer of
data. To unite the system
effectively in a network envi-
ronment, a scheduling model
has been developed, which
uses an information model of
the operations management
process and a system clock
as a basis for its functioning.
Introduction
The history of implementation of information
technologies for operations management
(OM) support consists of at least two stages,
which have been characterised by controver-
sial tendencies.
The first stage was dominated by imple-
mentation of integrated databases, which
were intended to unite all OM activities in a
company, and to link them to other activities
like strategic planning, human resource
management and so on. This unification
promised to resolve not only the problem of
efficient interfaces between different man-
agement groups, but also the main informa-
tion problem of OM, the existence of multiple
copies of the same data, and the necessity of
their regular and simultaneous update.
Very soon this idea was abandoned for two
reasons:
1 the insufficient capacity of the existing
mainframes;
2 the introduction of microcomputers with
attractive software packages.
The second stage was characterised by quick
implementation of useful PC software, which
makes managerial problem solving much
more efficient. At the same time this process
practically turned back the integration ten-
dency, and led to the disconnection of the
management database. Quick and efficient
problem solving now frequently coexists with
a slow interface between managers by means
of hard copies or disk files. This obstacle now
diminishes such business capabilities as
flexibility, quick response to the market
demand, reduced inventory, reliable delivery
performance and competitive quoted lead
times.
The necessity for operations management
database integration is so widely addressed
in the literature that a comprehensive survey
is impossible. By now practically every book
on operations management contains a chap-
ter describing the necessity and possible
benefits of an integrated database.
The reality though shows quite a different
picture – the OM database frequently consists
of several technically disconnected databases.
A simple unification of all the managers’ PCs
in a network does not solve the problem.
Many companies developed information
systems policies which usually recommend
use of specific type of hardware and software
being incorporated into companies’ local area
networks (LANs). Despite using a common
file server many applications are not “talk-
ing” to each other and transfer of data
between them is not an automated procedure.
The authors recently investigated a number
of nation-wide companies and found out that
many of them follow exactly this pattern:
their IS facilities are based on a relatively
large number of desk-top machines connected
into several LANs and using multiple file
servers. Each manager has access to many
databases, sometimes containing the same
data, but direct transfer of information
between these databases is fairly limited.
Without any doubt that might lead to poor
data integrity and waste of resources.
These problems have been explained by
Montazemi and Miltenburg (1991) in their
recent paper addressing this problem in a
computer integrated manufacturing environ-
ment. To solve this problem they have devel-
oped a modelling tool which can integrate an
information system of a firm, using several
different databases. Their software develops a
description of the united information system,
analysing diagrams drawn by the user of the
system.
Another approach is proposed in this paper.
A model of information flow is used for con-
necting several databases, which are used
regularly in a network environment. The
differences in the approaches are:
• the model of information flow is derived
from the flow charts of the operations man-
agement;
• the model is used as an input to a schedul-
ing model, which schedules regular trans-
actions;
• a system clock is introduced to organise the
scheduled transactions between databases.
The paper is structured as follows. After the
problem definition, a scheduling model is
developed. The method for formulating the
main constraints is given next. This is supple-
mented by an introduction of a system clock,
which makes possible effective ordering of
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