Cim Implementation Strategies

CIM IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

SHENG MA Submitted in Partial Completion of the Requirements of IEM 5303 Advanced Manufacturing Systems Design Fall 2000

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Table of Contents CIM IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES........................................................................i shenG mA.............................................................................................................................i INTRODUCTION TO cim.................................................................................................1 Definition of CIM Systems............................................................................................ ...........1 History............................................................................................................................ ...........1

The Need for CIM........................................................................................................2 Benefits of CIM...........................................................................................................2 Background.........................................................................................................................3 Background for CIM..................................................................................................... ...........3

Technology Background for CIM................................................................................3 Organization background for CIM...............................................................................3 Manufacturing Systems............................................................................... ............................4

Implementing CIM...........................................................................................................5 Prerequisite ........................................................................................................... ...................5

Hardware......................................................................................................................5 CIM Software...............................................................................................................5 CIM Workstations........................................................................................................6 Security and Computer viruses....................................................................................6 Implementing CIM Technology................................................................................... ............6

CIM Implementation Strategies...................................................................................7 Process.....................................................................................................................7 Setting the Strategies................................................................................................8 Developing the Plan.................................................................................................8 Implementing the Plan...........................................................................................10 Cost-Benefits Tracking..........................................................................................11 A Continuous Planning process.............................................................................11 Needs for Successful Implementation of CIM.......................................................11 CIM Implementation Strategies (Another Model) ................................................. .............12 Page ii

Establishing Objectives .............................................................................................12 Definition of CIM process Chains.............................................................................12 Implementation Paths:...............................................................................................12 COnclusion.......................................................................................................................14 Bibliography......................................................................................................................14

List of Figures

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INTRODUCTION TO CIM DEFINITION OF CIM SYSTEMS Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) could means different things to different people and different industries. However, regardless of the various definitions, Computer Integrated Manufacturing systems can be best described by: Systems which enable the integrated, rationalized, design, development, implementation, operation and improvement of production facilities and their output over the life cycle of the product. These systems identify and use appropriate technology to achieve their goals at minimum cost and effort (1). HISTORY For much of the twentieth century, U.S. manufacturers were unchallenged in an environment in which conservative approaches to both process technology and managerial techniques produced successful results. Foreign competition was minimal. Companies modified strategies and processes in minor ways in response to shifting economic circumstances. During 1950s and 1960s, the America enjoyed a golden era of manufacturing and the emphasis in manufacturing was on providing substantial additional plant capacity that was needed just to keep up with market growth. Since manufacturers had their hands full simply adding capacity of a know type, they saw no need to add new process technologies at the same time, quality and cost were ignored. Many U.S. firms spent incremental dollars on product technology and very little on new process technology. Beginning in the early 1970s, the rate of growth slowed. By the beginning of 1980s, U.S. manufacturing has the slowest growth compare to major competitors like Japan, West German, U.K. and France. Also, U.S. manufacturer has the highest labor cost. At the mean time, foreign manufacturer like Japan, are providing much better quality and much cheaper products by adopting new process technologies and new management concepts. With continuing cost and quality pressure from global competitors, top management beginning to search ways to improve production processes other than 1970s automation activities. One development is the concept of CIM. CIM has been defined as the deliberate integration of automated system into the processes producing a product. The CIM concept has taken hold in U.S. manufacturing and companies are putting vast sums of money into automating their operations. However, Page 1

the implementation of CIM was not successful at the early stage. Companies have failed in the implementation of CIM in as many different ways as there are companies (3). This lack of was partially attributed to the fact that the great majority of the senior managers fail to understand and promote the implementation of CIM, also the lack of success was due to lack of cooperation between computer and control vendors. By this time, strategic approach of implementing CIM is realized. The Need for CIM According to R.U. Ayres (4), CIM is prompted by four linked hypotheses: • New manufacturing possibilities have been created by rapid technological progress in electronics and telecommunications. The rapid development of technology facilities applications of programmable automation and CIM arises from the confluence of these supply elements (technology) and demand elements (flexibility, quality, variety). • In manufacturing processes involving human “on-line” errors result in defects. Because of increasing product complexity, defective designs, components or assemblies are increasingly intolerable. • Consumers want more choice, which means variety and customization as well as reliability and quality, making the manufacturing process more and more complex and increasing the information-processing load in firms. The rapid introduction of new products is becoming an increasingly important competitive strategy, and product life cycles are shortening. • There is a trade-off between economies of scale and economics of scope that result from flexible automation. CIM can help increase the integration of functions and control as well as higher quality and greater flexibility, at the meat time generating lower costs. Benefits of CIM Many of the firms that are currently using CIM have reported a number of improvement (5): • 15-30% reduction in engineering design costs • 30-60% reduction in overall lead times • 40-70% gain in overall production • 200-500% gain in product quality • 30-60% reduction in work-in process. While CIM programs have reported large gains for manufacturing firms, CIM can be costly and difficult to implement. CIM implementations require large capital Page 2

expenditures, a strong commitment from top management, organizational flexibility and partnership.

BACKGROUND To better implement CIM in a manufacturing firm, one must understand elements of CIM. BACKGROUND FOR CIM Technology Background for CIM Concerning the technology background of CIM, R.U. Ayres (4) distinguishes three categories of technologies: • enabling technologies • transition technologies • central technologies In the first category are telecommunications, microelectronics and computers. These technologies are applicable far beyond the domain of manufacturing. In the second category appear technologies where microelectronic and computer devices have been applied over the past thirty years, but on a stand-alone basis. NCs machine tools, programmable controllers and robots are examples in this category. The third category consists of technologies directly related to computer integration. The major example of these technologies are computer-aided design and computer aided manufacturing and design (CAD/CAM), computer aided planning (CAP), computerized manufacturing resource planning (MRP), local area networks (LAN) and flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). FMS represents a key steps in the introduction of more advanced manufacturing systems including CIM technology. FMS enables links between programmable automation at the machine level and the integration of computer manufacturing at the information level. Organization background for CIM CIM is more than a simple technology problem. It must be considered as a combination of technologies, organization and data processing. CIM is a specific concept Page 3

for the firm. People at different levels of the firm should understand specific factors in favor of a specific CIM concept for each firm. Among these factors: • Marketing demands (products, quality, delays…); • Technical and economic objectives of the company (reduction of manufacturing costs, improvement of material flow, information flow...) • Degrees of computerization and networking (type of hardware and software, network implementation, size of network, distributed architectures…) • Factors specific to the manufacturing conditions (formation, personnel, and types of machines, types of technologies, production strategy, size of company…). CIM overall is a specific strategy embracing all the components above to help achieve companies long term objectives. MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS Manufacturing maybe defined as a series of interrelated activities and operations involving the design, selection of materials, planning, production, quality assurance, management, and marketing of discrete consumable and durable goods. The interaction among these activities and operations form a total manufacturing system. A system is an organized collection of human resources; machines, tools, and equipment resources; financial resources; and methods required to accomplish a set of specific function. A typical manufacturing enterprise can be viewed as representing a conceptual system whose major functions are business, engineering, human resources, and production. Manufacturing phases can be summarized as follows: • Early planning and product support. Typical of such activities are forecasting, product selection and contracts, advanced engineering and research, business and product support planning, and operational research. Teams from the major functions work together during this phase. • Engineering and product design. Design engineers analyze, synthesize, design, and cultivate the product to meet a set of design specifications. If the product as designed meets the specifications, engineering management approves it. • Manufacturing engineering. Manufacturing engineering, sometimes called production engineering, develops the production processes by which the Page 4

design is translated into manufactured goods at the lowest possible cost. • Production planning. Production planning may be defined as the systematic scheduling of workers, materials, and machines by using lead times, time standards, delivery dates, work loads, and other similar data. • Production controls. This phase involves directing or regulating the movement of goods through the entire manufacturing cycle from the requisitioning of raw materials to the delivery of the finished product. • Production. This phase involves the operation of changing the shape, composition or combination of materials, parts, or subassemblies to increase their value. • Product shipment and support. The final phase is to deliver to the customer quality products and services in a timely manner. This phase also provides complete support for the products.

IMPLEMENTING CIM PREREQUISITE CIM represents a complex environment, embodying all activities of designing, making, and marketing a product. All firms need to be computerized to achieve a true CIM environment. Hardware Parallel-processing-based hardware and fifth-generation computers are needed for CIM to become widespread. Because of the interaction among numerous computers and other devices, a local area network (LAN) is needed for each geographical location. If the manufacturing business is carried out at different locations or in different countries, the LANs must be connected to each other via wide area networks (WANs). CIM Software CIM software is an integrated package containing as many individual programs functionally amalgamated into one as possible. The CIM environment requires application program that can be easily integrated. Typical CIM software should be able Page 5

to handle all major production tasks in conjunction with other business tasks. It should be capable of: • Managing NC programs and their distribution, • Shop-floor data collection, • Interface to any NC/CNC system, • Handling manufacturing management functions such as prescheduling job flow and saving shop-edited programs, • Electronic mailing throughout the plant and office, • Creating database-accessible files using shop-floor data, and • Working in varies operating environments (Dos, Unix). CIM Workstations Workstations are specialized computer systems that have tailored hardware and software to carry out specific tasks more efficiently. Workstations are fast and have sufficient memory to handle manufacturing tasks more efficiently. Security and Computer viruses PC-based systems and LANs, normally less security-controlled than the mainframes, are more vulnerable. Companies need to ensure that end-user systems that link PCs to the corporate computer cannot enter undesirable information. In addition, a crisis management plan should be developed to help the CIM system recover in case of a viral attack. Databases and other erasable components must be backed up. IMPLEMENTING CIM TECHNOLOGY To implement CIM technology, the following points should be focused: • Strategy for CIM, based on organization, partners and concept. CIM implementation is characterized by a sequential decision process that should consider technical assistance, organizational modifications, manufacturing techniques configuration, data processing technology needed, personnel qualification and acceptance of CIM by personnel. • Organization for CIM

This is a special CIM team for leading CIM business in the company. This team deals with problems such as structuring the objectives, the definition of necessary guidelines or the translation of CIM concepts into reality. In reality, success of Page 6

the CIM project is principally dependent on the capacities of the CIM team to overcome complex relations and to build appropriate representation models close to the CIM strategy. • Collaboration with partners. This includes the internal collaboration and the outside consultants, advisors, and suppliers of CIM components. CIM Implementation Strategies CIM is not generic. Each individual company has unique characteristics and is subject to different external influences, each will require a different a different point of balance between people and automation, and hence will require a different form of CIM. Process Figure 1 shows the process by which CIM maybe implemented.

Mission Statement

Company’s Objectives

Strategies

Business Plan Goals

Programs/Projects Activities

Resources Allocation

Implementation Plan

Figure 1. The processes by which CIM maybe implemented (7). The company first defines the business it wants to be in terms of the nature of the products, and the market (i.e., mission statement). It then defines its desired future positions in terms of growth, profitability, etc (i.e., company’s objectives). Strategies, Page 7

which outline the best way of achieving the objectives and accomplishing the mission, given the constraints of the market and the resources of the company, are then set. These strategies are elaborated upon in a business plan, which shows the specific targets to be sought at specified points in time (i.e., goals), and an array of prioritized programs/projects through which the goals are pursued and the strategies implemented. Finally, funds, personnel, etc are allocated to the programs/projects (i.e., resources allocation), and an implementation plan is created to ensure their successful implementation. Setting the Strategies To achieve the objectives and accomplish the mission, the company must set three strategies: the market, the product, and the manufacturing strategy. The manufacturing strategy must be connected to the market and product strategies – it must be derived from the latter and at the same time it must support and influence them. The latter must themselves be closely coupled and their choice must be the results of careful analysis of the external environment, the company’s objectives, and the strengths and weaknesses of the company itself. Developing the Plan The process of developing and implementing CIM can be described in the following eight discrete stages. • Project initiation. During this stage, the overall project organization and methodologies are established. Personnel are assigned to the project and trained in specialized techniques for developing a CIM plan. • Development of the company’s economic model. The model shows all the performance measures which can be related to the critical success factors and their relationships with the factors, and relationships between the critical success factors and business metrics such as price and market share. • “As-is” analysis. Analyses of the company’s current environment to provide the baseline for further analysis and improvement efforts. • Needs analysis. An analysis conducted to identify the business functions, which could most effectively benefit from new technologies. • Selection and evaluation of improvement technologies. Alternative technologies that support the manufacturing objectives and are consistent with the manufacturing strategy are Page 8

selected for evaluation against both economic and non-economic criteria. • Master plan. The total package of selected technologies with a specific request for expenditure is then submitted to top management. Once approved, it is converted into a master plan for implementation. • Incremental implementation. The master plan is implemented on a project-by-project basis, either starting with the projects that promise the highest returns, or with the least threatening projects and letting the implementers “steer” the culture and build confidence in the workforce. • Cost-benefits tracking. The actual costs incurred and the benefits attained are ascertained. To facilitate the development of CIM plan, the following are required: • A progressive approach to integration. A recommended progressive approach to integration is to plan integration inside management functions, plan integration between management functions, and plan integration with external environment. The aim is to achieve not just process/operations integration, but also material flow, controls, and information integration. • A CIM reference model. The model gives the implementers a vision of how a company will operate in an integrated environment, and so helps them to avoid creating islands of automation and information. • Structured company model. Three types of company models should be built: the “as-is”, “should-be”, and the “to-be” models. The “as-is” models, which are models of the current company’s environment, are built first. They enable tuning of existing facilities via simplification and rationalization using such techniques as JIT, GT, plant layout, TQM, WITs, etc. Then, the “should-be” models, which not only implementing the recommendations of tuning exercise, but also comply with the stated company’s manufacturing objectives, are built. The “should-be” models form the basis of a CIM plan. They are used to identify functional requirements for advanced manufacturing technologies such as MRP II, FMS, AR/RS, CAD, CAM, DBMS, robotics, etc. From the “should-be” models, state-of-the-art technology, and the company’s idea of its future need, the “to-be” models are developed. They are models of the company’s future environment showing how things are to be done in the future with advanced manufacturing technologies. • Cost-benefits analysis. Cost-benefits analysis for advanced manufacturing technology projects may involve the following steps: Step 1. Identify manufacturing functions and function groups. Page 9

Step 2. Identify all significant cost classifications. Step 3. Develop the “as-is” cost baseline. Step 4. Develop an “as-is” performance baseline. Step 5. Prioritize improvement potential. Step 6. Selection of technology alternatives, Step 7. Determine the “to-be” cost baseline for each technology alternative being investigated. Step 8. Determine the “to-be” performance baseline for each technology alternative being investigated. Step 9. Rank the technology alternatives. Step 10. Develop risk management plan. Step 11. Perform economic analysis. Step 12. Consider non-economic and strategic justification factors. Implementing the Plan CIM plan is developed from top down, it is implemented from the bottom up. The implementation of a technology project can be carried out in five stages: • Project leader selection. Once the technology projects have been selected and prioritized, a leader for each project is chosen. In any project, the best choice for project leader is the person who has the greatest chance of successfully complementing the project. • Project team formation. Once a project leader has been chosen, the necessary human resources for support should be provided. To select the appropriate people requires that the project be divided into manageable subtasks. The nature of the subtasks then defines who should be on the project team and what their responsibilities should be. • Project organization. Once the project team has been formed, its place in the organization structure must be decided. It allows the project team to draw on and interact with all the functional areas, thus maximizing representation and communication as is typically required with an advanced manufacturing project. • Project planning. The project leader is responsible for project planning which includes defining the tasks that will be required to implement the project, setting budgets and milestone schedules for each task, assigning responsibilities for accomplishing the tasks on time and within budget, and allocating resources. • Project control. The aim of project control is to ensure that the project is on schedule and within the budget and performance constraints. To achieve this aim, a project management information system should be set up to enable the project to be monitored through comparison of planned performance with actual performance.

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Cost-Benefits Tracking Cost-benefits tracking necessitates the capturing of data required monitoring the status of the critical success factors, and also the identification of the sources of these data. Once the required data are captured, the actual cost and performance baselines are developed and are then compare to the “to-be” cost and performance baselines to identify variances. A Continuous Planning process As things changed overt time, the CIM plan must be reviewed periodically to reflect these changes. Within a few years, the implemented projects will be the subject of a new “as-is” analysis, needs will have to be reassessed, and the plan reviewed. Needs for Successful Implementation of CIM CIM should be implemented from a position of strength, not weakness. The CIM implementers need to decide whether the company is in a strong position to implement CIM. Following are some prerequisites for successful implementation of CIM: • Top management involvement. Top management involvement is always a critical factor in any major change in an organization. They not only should be committed, but also be actively involved in CIM planning. • A knowledgeable work force. Knowledge of employees consists of skills, experience, and talent they bring to the company. All are highly relevant to CIM implementation. • A smooth normal functioning and highly readiness for CIM. The day-to-day operations of the company should normally be carried out in a planned thoughtful way rather than in a crisis mode. • An organizational culture conducive to CIM implementation. The implementation of CIM demands some cultural upheaval. This becomes a selling job for all management levels, accompanied with an unending education process for the work force. • A supportive infrastructure. CIM requires an infrastructure considerably different from what exists in most companies today. So the organization of the company may have to be altered to make more effective use of the new technologies. • Adoption of industrial standards. Industrial standards, when widely adopted by vendors, generally lower the cost of systems and equipment. They increase the options for user when sourcing systems and equipment, and simplify the tasks of system development and integration. They facilitate ready accessibility Page 11

and free flow of information and also allow for flexibility to make partial upgrades and replacements of integrated systems when new technologies appear (7). CIM IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES (ANOTHER MODEL) Establishing Objectives The starting point for a CIM system is the strategic planning of the enterprise by top management, project leaders, etc. The enterprise can orient itself according to one of three general objectives: • Cost leadership • Product variety • Market position. These generalized objectives are then rendered more operational in the subsequent evaluation of concrete CIM sub-projects (process chains). Definition of CIM process Chains A user who wishes to implement CIM can start with CIM sub-chains once the necessary framework has been defined. The choice of sub-chains depends on branchand factory-specific characteristics. • Sub-chain 1: Linking planning and control • Sub-chain 2: Linking CAD and CAM • Sub-chain 3: Linking master data management (product description database) • Sub-chain 4: Linking production control and CAM • Sub-chain 5: Inter-company process chain (include PPC integration and CAD/CAM integration) • Sub-chain 6: Linking operative systems with accounting and controlling systems.

Implementation Paths: Figure 2 represents implementation paths leads to the same global CIM implementation. Technical Data

CADNC

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CAD-NCDNC PP-CAD-NC

DNC-CAD-NC-PP

PP-CAD-NC-CAP PP-CAD

PP-CAD-CAQ

PP-ODC-CAQ-CAD

PP-ODC-MC-CAP

Globa l CIM

PP-MC-ODC PP-ODC-MC-CAQ

PP-ODC PP-CAQODC

PP-CAQ

Business data CAD = Design/Development CAP = Process planning system CAQ = Quality assurance DNC = Cluster of several NC systems MC = Manufacturing control system NC = NC programming system ODC = Operational data collection PP = Production planning Figure 2. Implementation Path (6) For example, if the current problem is one of meeting a customer’s quality assurance requirements (CAQ) the existing production planning and control system can be linked Page 13

with CAQ by adopting test plans (see lower shadowed path). Thereafter, this can be linked with an operational data collection system for feedback of quality data. CAD is then introduced in a subsequent step. The current problem for another enterprise might be that of linking CAD with NC programming, so as to shorten the delivery time on variant orders. The next step would then be to introduce DNC and thereafter to reorganize production planning (see the upper shadowed path). More detailed model development could be seen in reference (6).

CONCLUSION Due to the global competition and fast change customer requirements, implementing CIM is beneficial. It could provide products with better quality, lower costs, better support, and in a short lead-time. Implementing CIM requires organizational and technical understanding and strategic approach. People at all levels should be educated and commit to the implementation of CIM. Each individual company has unique characteristics and is subject to different external influences, each will require a different a different point of balance between people and automation, and hence will require a different form of CIM. Implementation of CIM requires long-term effort and continuous improvement.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.

Dr. John W. Nazemetz, “Class Notes”, Lecture 2 Slides, 2000

2.

Arthur L. Foston, Carolean L. Smith, & Tony Au, Fundamentals of ComputerIntegrated Manufacturing, Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1991.

3.

John W. Clemons, "Successful CIM Projects: From Business Strategy to CIM Page 14

Strategy", Manufacturing Systems, Volume 9, Issue 11, pages 64-68, Wheaton, Nov. 1991. 4.

Victor Sandoval, Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) in Japan, Elsevier, Amsterdam-London-New York-Tokyo, 1994.

5.

John S. Morris and Linda J. Morris, “Problems In CIM implementation: A Case Study of Nine CIM Firms”, Computers ind. Engng., Volume 27, Nos. 1-4, pages 147150, 1994.

6.

August-Wilhelm Scheer, CIM: Towards the Factory of the Future, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1994.

7.

C.L.Ang, “Planning and Implementing Computer Integrated manufacturing”, Computers in Industry, Volume 12, Pages 131-140, 1989.

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