Editorial

Citation

Bennett, D. (2009), "Editorial", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 20 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmtm.2009.06820daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Volume 20, Issue 4

In an earlier Editorial of Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management ( JMTM), I discussed the changes that I considered were necessary to the editorial objectives and scope if the journal was to remain abreast of the developments in manufacturing that have taken place over the past few years. I also tried to predict some of the emerging issues that I thought would need to be reflected in the future for JMTM to remain a serious journal that bridges theory and practice in manufacturing industries.

At the time I wrote that Editorial, there were just the first signs of problems in the world’s economy, but they were restricted largely to the housing market collapse and restrictions in the availability of mortgage loans, leading to the term “credit crunch” being used to describe the situation at that time. As far as manufacturing was concerned, there was little real evidence of what was to come in terms of the widespread loss of consumer confidence leading to the fall in demand for goods that has resulted in layoffs, short time working and factory closures around the world. The main challenges I mentioned before were therefore energy use in production, “green manufacturing”/sustainability issues, production and distribution of food and agro-based goods, resolving the complexity question in manufacturing; workforce demographics and the role of the emerging economies. However, the term “recession” has come to the fore, meaning that a whole raft of other challenges has been added to those mentioned, relating to finance and the management of declining demand as well as diminishing resources.

Consequently, the new editorial objectives and scope that cover all these aspects must go well beyond those that were previously appropriate to JMTM. Although they can be found inside the cover of the print edition of the journal and on the home page: www.emeraldinsight.com/jmtm.htm, it is relevant to list them here in order to draw attention to the wide range of additional topics that have been included in recognition of the past and predicted future developments in manufacturing technology and manufacturing management.

The list of topics is as follows:

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  Strategy formulation relating to manufacturing operations and technologies.

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  Design and implementation of manufacturing technology.

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  Technological innovation in manufacturing.

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  Technology transfer and dissemination in manufacturing industries.

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  Sustainable production and “green” manufacturing.

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  Economic and financial issues relating to manufacturing companies and industries.

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  Global manufacturing networks and international operations.

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  Automation of manufacturing processes and systems.

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  Computer-aided production and the elements of computer-integrated manufacturing.

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  Information systems in manufacturing.

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  Modelling and simulation of manufacturing systems.

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  Design for manufacture and simultaneous/concurrent engineering.

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  Complexity, variety, flexibility and production scale issues.

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  Human factors, work organisation and workforce demographics.

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  Manufacturing in developing and emerging economies.

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  Quality management systems and quality control.

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  Reliability and maintenance of manufacturing systems.

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  Risk, security and liability issues in manufacturing.

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  Purchasing and materials management.

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  Supply chain management, logistics and reverse logistics.

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  Manufacturing performance and productivity measurement.

Finally, I must take the opportunity to stress that JMTM’s overall objective is to place emphasis on the publication of articles that seek to link theory with practical application or critically analyse real cases with the objective of identifying good practice in manufacturing. JMTM avoids publishing purely theoretical or highly technical papers on manufacturing for which the direct industrial relevance or practical implications are not immediately evident. Therefore, as well as bringing the journal’s coverage up to date, another reason for revising the editorial scope has also been to offer wider opportunities for prospective authors to submit practically oriented papers on topics, and within areas, that provide value to industry in the short and medium term.

David Bennett