Computerised Production Control of Consumer Durables
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057225 |
| Published date | 01 November 1981 |
| Date | 01 November 1981 |
| Pages | 32-41 |
| Author | Peter Harvey |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Computerised Production
Control of Consumer Durables
by Peter Harvey
The manufacture of consumer durables, such as, for exam-
ple,
washing machines and cars, consists largely of collec-
ting together a number of pre-fabricated components and
affixing them to units on an assembly line. Most of these
components are probably made by sub-contractors, but
some may be made in-house. Then there are also basic
materials involved such as sheet metal and plastic. For
cars,
the number of components as well as the variations in
units are both very large, and final testing to maintain
quality very complicated and thorough; for washing
machines, as there are fewer components final testing is
much simpler, but the production control process is
basically the same. However, whatever the finished pro-
ducts,
the various models and variations need to be pro-
duced in the right quantities at the right time, on the one
hand sufficient to satisfy orders from customers and on the
other hand to avoid having unnecessarily large stocks of
unsold finished products in stock.
Moreover, if additionally the manufacturer reduces to a
minimum the stocks he carries of materials and of com-
ponents involved in the production process, economies will
be achieved and these can be very substantial. Materials
and components in store not only occupy space, which is
always at a premium, but they also represent unused
capital which can be very expensive these days when the
cost of money is so high.
To keep the stock of each component to a minimum,
very strict control is essential. During the manufacturing
process, components of the right quality must be available
in the right quantities at the right place at the right time,
for, on the one hand if an assembly line is held up because
of the lack of a component the result can be very costly in-
Figure 1. The Siemens Industrial Automation Hierarchy.
At the top is the Planning level served by a large Siemens
7700/7500 computer system. Communicating with this are
numerous. Siemens
R10
and R30 computers serving opera-
tions management and production logistics. These com-
puters interface with local and specific computers and
video terminals at goods reception and dispatch, stores and
on the shop floor.
32 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
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