CIM - A Manufacturing Paradigm (Le CIM - Un Nouveau Modele Industriel)

摘要

The Industrial Revolution was based on the paradigm of the division of labour into areas of specialization. Manufacturers and, indeed, most enterprises have refined the Industrial Revolution model - we now live in the age of the specialist. However, the specialist model has reached its limit for improving productivity. Direct manufacturing costs represent only a small percentage of total production cost; indirect or manufacturing support costs are a very large fraction of total cost. CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) is a new paradigm which promotes the integration of organization, planning and control to improve productivity by maintaining a single manufacturing record. This new paradigm will greatly reduce manufacturing support costs. This paper presents examples of the CIM paradigm and discusses the John Deere Tractor Works as an instance of the CIM model. Also discussed are some prevalent myths about CIM and some of the key concepts. A prognosis is given, based on the productivity improvement anticipated from a wide adoption of the CIM paradigm.