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To say that the coatings industry in the United States has been in the doldrums is an understatement. The value of shipments in 1972 dollars was $3.8 billion and in these same constant dollars, £3.7 billion in 1983. To be sure, in actual dollars, the $3.8 billion figure of 1972 increased to almost nine billion dollars in 1983. But the constant dollar figure is obviously the significant one. What all this means is that the industry was “running in order to stand still”. In other words, despite the increase in inflated dollars, there was no increase when these actual dollars were discounted for inflation.

Industry growth in the field of coil coatings has been impressive as several of the articles abstracted below attest. The advantages inherent in coil coatings from the points of view of economy, adaptability to automation, and adaptability of the final product to fabrication are impressive ones that industry is taking full advantage of. There are, to be sure, some problems associated with the use of precoated steel, such as destruction of the coating during weldability, but techniques have been devised, including mechanical fastening, to circumvent such problems.

The literature is filled with articles describing trends in ail industries, and the coatings industry does not escape such analysis. Indeed, much of what has been said in the introduction of this series relates to trends. Generally the profitability trend in the coatings industry as it does business in a world beclouded by petroleum and energy shortages and government regulations becomes less and less exciting. This means that so‐called strategic planning is of major importance.

Marketing is the name of the game for any manufacturing industry, for it is marketing and sales that make the greatest contribution to “the bottom line”. Thus, the coatings literature abounds with articles on this subject. An interesting one by Willner [Modern Paint and Coatings, 66, June (1976) p. 39] makes the point that new end uses are difficult to come by and, accordingly, growth for a paint company must come either by taking sales away from competitors or by the acquisition of other companies. Willner then proceeds to demonstrate by means of profit and loss statements and balance sheets what the pros and cons are of these alternatives, analysing the results, finally, in terms of a “rewards‐versus‐costs” ratio. All such analyses are, of course, based on certain assumptions. If one is going to acquire a company, it is possible perhaps to make more valid assumptions than it is of the strategy calls for developing a new product to gain market share; for inherent in the technology required for the new products are many variables which frequently cannot be handled quantitatively. Even so, what Willner proposes is an excellent exercise that well‐deserves the attention of managers of coatings companies.

Numerous reviews ranging from broad overviews to highly specific analysis are published each year about the paint industry. The paint industry lends itself to such reviews for it is a mature industry, and there are very little secrets about the industry's operations. Also, excellent statistics are available which provide the possibility of drawing numerous correlations.

Most writers of headlines for daily newspapers generally do not consider paint brushes and related tools highly newsworthy. Occasionally, however, they are proved wrong as was demonstrated when a 54‐cent paint scraper accidentally fell into a torpedo launcher at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. The net result of this seemingly minor accident was that the nuclear submarine, USS Swordfish, had to be placed in drydock for $171,000 worth of repairs.

This study aims to develop a manufacturing process management system which aims to benefit the excavation, collection and search of the mentors’ experience and knowledge. The coating painting industry is a typical small and medium-sized traditional industry and usually depends on master's experience to solve the manufacturing problem.

Based on the characteristics and manufacturing process of the architectural coating industry, this study develops a practical knowledge management system (KMS) with two stages. The first stage collects and analyzes manufacturing process data, and the second stage constructs the KMS of the manufacturing process.

This manufacturing process KMS can accumulate and share the operators’ experience and knowledge systematically; this KMS not only improves the apprentices’ skill and problem-solving abilities but also enhances the enterprise’s overall product quality, undoubtedly.

This manufacturing process KMS was designed to be implemented in architectural coating industry which is defined as a “3K” industry. Such a specific manufacturing process KMS is not a generalized principles system which is hard to apply to other industries because the different industries own different explicit and tacit knowledge which cannot be captured in this study simultaneously. Further research will try to design a more complete and integrated KMS for industry and combine it with other approaches such as TRIZ (Russian acronym for the theory of inventive problem solving), patent database and problem-solving tools.

The developments of this manufacturing process KMS software was based on systematic analysis and design. Using the architectural coating industry as an example, this system externalized the cognitive apprenticeship and developed a KMS based on the characteristics of the manufacturing process to preserve and share the valuable manufacturing process knowledge.

The paper extends knowledge management’s contribution to externalize the cognitive apprenticeship and develop a KMS. The adoption of this manufacturing process KMS enables employees to improve their techniques, skills and problem-solving abilities and enables companies to enhance the overall product quality.

As technology becomes more complex, the need for coatings for specialised functions continues to increase. The electronics industry, for example, makes demands on the coating industry for both conductive and insulative coatings. Highly temperature‐resistant coatings played a key role in the aerospace industry. Fire retardant coatings contribute to consumer safety, and coatings for plastics serve a number of protective and decorative functions. The list could be extended appreciably. Some of its newer components will be described here.

The coatings industry has great ability to produce each year a variety of new end products. Many of these are variations of existing materials, but nonetheless it is of importance to note them for they provide an indication of where interest in the coatings industry lies. Typical of the specialty coatings from which the industry seeks higher profits is a white latex paint that contains a small amount of insecticide concentrate which crystallizes into thousands of microscopic particles as the paint dries. These particles migrate to the surface to form a thin dry film of insecticide that kills insects on contact. The paint is registered with the EPA and State agencies for application on both exterior and interior surfaces of office buildings, schools, hotels, and farm buildings. However, it is not approved for direct contact with food or animal feed. The coating has been described in Chemical Industry Update (April 7, 1983, p. 4) and is offered by Universal Cooperatives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Highlights Health and Safety with regard to the paint and coatings industry, recent legislation has been designed to put pressure on paint manufacturers to preserve the ecology, protect the environment and increase health and safety at work. Outlines the major guidelines introduced by the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations and the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations to help paint manufacturers to rise to the challenge of manufacturing products that are safer, both to the user and to the environment and which at the same time complement industry initiatives.