The drive to reduce costs and enhance competitiveness in manufacturing industry has led to greatly increased interest in industrial automation, particularly for small and medium sized enterprises. Although manufacturing robots and flexible machining systems (FMS) are no longer the exclusive preserve of the major industrial multi-nationals, their adoption has not been as widespread or as effective as was once predicted. The purpose of this book is to examine the international patterns of development and adoption of flexible automated manufacturing, to identify current and future best practice particularly in the emerging technology of robotic assembly, and to show how technology, industrial flexibility and competitiveness are inter-related.

Innovations in Competitive Manufacturing is an examination of manufacturing innovations - both technical and knowledge-based. Over the recent past, technology has created dramatic changes in manufacturing. As a result, the book focuses on the use of technology in gaining competitive advantage in global manufacturing. Forty topics are surveyed in the book, organized into thirteen chapters. Each topic is a carefully written account by one or more leading researchers in that area. This is the first systematic examination of the recent innovations in manufacturing strategy and technology. In addition to providing an understanding of these manufacturing innovations, the book underscores the strategic importance of creating and sustaining the technological resources to ensure a stable manufacturing economic base. The book's purpose is to examine the elements that make today's manufacturers successful. Many examples from industry throughout the book will enable the reader to appreciate and comprehend the concepts presented in the article. In addition to the technical and innovative information, implementation issues concerning new ideas and manufacturing practices are explored within the topical discussions. Four in-depth descriptions of real-life cases provide illustration of key principles. The book has been constructed as a reference tool for manufacturing researchers, students, and practitioners. Hence, after reading the introduction `Innovation in Competitive Manufacturing: From JIT to E-Business', any section or topic in the book can be consulted and/or read in any sequence the reader may choose.

This book examines the extent of, and motives for, the diffusion of flexible automation (FA) at global level and then turns to the local and firm level, bringing together in-depth studies of sixty-two firms in Brazil, India, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela. Research focuses on the impact of computer-numerically-controlled machine tools on scale and scope by exploring changes in lot sizes and product variety (product scale and scope), total plant output (plant scale) and total firm output (firm scale). Barriers to setting up FA-based operations are discussed, as are factors which may affect a decision to locate in a developing country. The contributed studies reveal a relatively slow diffusion of FA in developing countries and it is demonstrated that while FA possibly increases scope, it also requires that plant output be increased in order to maintain efficiency. Alcorta concludes that the location in developing countries will probably only be viable for large domestic firms, multinationals seeking to relocate simple but labour intensive assembly processes and firms in countries with significant domestic markets. This work is unique in addressing the scale and scope issues in developing countries and in the wealth of information regarding machine tools which it provides. The data provided in the appendix includes official United Nations data, previously unpublished. This will be of use for all research into trends in the use of machine tools.

This volume features essays on labour relations at national, local, and workplace levels, as economic and political actors cope with the similar challenges associated with economic adjustment measures and the impact of 'globalization'.

Reports on U.S. competitiveness in a wide spectrum of high-technology areas, focusing on trade balances in high-tech products, R&D spending, patents, and scientific publications. Includes assessments of trends in the U.S. position over the past decade, particularly relative to Japan. 30 tables.