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Significant transitions in firms (e.g. outsourcing) may impact the relative importance of production and inventory assets, affecting the hierarchical separation of planning decisions. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to planning literature by investigating how the production system and the planning environment influence the performance difference between hierarchical and monolithic planning. Further, it seeks to reduce the prevailing theory-practice gap in tactical planning.

Through an action research study, a monolithic model integrating tactical production planning decisions, subject to upstream supply chain constraints, with strategic investments decisions was developed, tested and implemented in a global OEM. Using the developed model and a measure of the capital cost of production assets relative to the cost of holding inventory, it is numerically examined how the production system and planning environment influence the performance of hierarchical and monolithic planning.

The research demonstrates the potential of integrating decisions and reveals significant performance differences between hierarchical and monolithic planning for firms with low capital cost relative to inventory holding cost.

The findings suggest a fit between planning processes, the production system and planning environment. Future research should empirically validate the findings and propositions.

The paper combine capital investments and production planning decisions, which usually transpire at different hierarchical levels and on different time-horizons, and investigates the consequences of hierarchical separation through a real-life validated case and numerical analysis.

The complexity of manufacturing systems, on-going production and existing constraints on the shop floor remain among the main challenges for the analysis, design and development of the models in product, process and factory domains. The potential of different virtual factory (VF) tools and approaches to support simultaneous engineering for the design, and development of these domains has been addressed in the literature. To fulfil this potential, there is a need for an approach which integrates the product, process and production systems for designing and developing VF and its validation in real-life cases. This paper aims to present an integrated design approach for VF design and development, as well as a demonstration implemented in a wind turbine manufacturing plant.

As the research calls for instrumental knowledge to discover the effects of intervention on the operations of an enterprise, design science research methodology is considered to be a well-suited methodology for exploring practical usefulness of a generic design to close the theory–practice gap. The study was planned as an exploratory research activity which encompassed the simultaneous design and development of artefacts and retrospective analysis of the design and implementation processes. The extended VF concept, architecture, a demonstration and procedures followed during the research work are presented and evaluated.

The artefacts (models and methods) and the VF demonstrator, which was evaluated by industry experts and scholars based on the role of the VF in improving the performance in the evaluation and reconfiguration of new or existing factories, reduce the ramp-up and design times, supporting management decisions. Preliminary results are presented and discussed.

The concept VF model, its architecture and general methodology as an integrated design and development approach, can be adopted and used for VF design and development both for discrete and continuous manufacturing plants. The development and demonstration were limited, however, because real-time synchronisation, 3D laser scanning data and a commonly shared data model, to enable the integration of different VF tools, were not achievable.

The paper presents a novel VF concept and architecture, which integrates product, process and production systems. Moreover, design and development methods of the concept and its demonstration for a wind turbine manufacturing plant are presented. The paper, therefore, contributes to the information systems and manufacturing engineering field by identifying a novel concept and approach to the effective design and development of a VF and its function in the analysis, design and development of manufacturing systems.

The purpose of this paper is to study the information support technologies of integrated production planning control for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) driven networked manufacturing systems, and offer implications to firms for implementing networked manufacturing.

OEM driven networked manufacturing and its operations modes and support technologies are first discussed. Then, integration framework of production planning and control is proposed and relative technologies are discussed. Finally, a case of the application of information support technologies in networked manufacturing is illustrated.

Both theory analysis and case experience show that information integration and sharing are critical for effective operations of OEM driven networked manufacturing and an integrated production planning and control system can benefit firms for successfully operating a networked manufacturing system.

It is valuable to develop and apply integrated production planning and control systems in OEM driven networked manufacturing, Firms should pay more attention to information sharing and communication with partners and utilize advanced information technologies to synchronize the operations of partners.

Integration framework of production planning and control proposed in this paper has originality and the technology strategies are also practical. Managerial ideas, technology framework and application strategies of integrated production planning and control are helpful for firms to implement OEM driven networked manufacturing.

Flexifactories, where the product made can be changed at low cost and quickly, constitute an important aspect of manufacturing flexibility. Examination of Honda flexifactories worldwide reveals how models are changed over, the model mix altered, and whole factories switched to making new types of products. Flexifactories are logically operated as networks, constituting a bridge between the “micro” flexibility of people and machines and overall corporate flexibility, resulting in improved mass production. This is not to argue that the flexibility of flexifactories is without limit, nor that they do not contain their own rigidities. Further empirical and theoretical research is needed to compare the flexifactory model with previous models of optimal factory organization.

The purpose of the paper is to present the findings of a study of factory closure management. It details the sequence and the results of the key strategic manufacturing management decisions made from the time of the announcement of the plant closure to the cessation of operations. The paper also includes an analysis of the human resource management (HRM) actions taken during this same time period and their consequences upon all those involved in the closure management process.

The case study methodology consisted of two initial site visits to monitor closure management effectiveness (adherence to plan and the types and frequency of closure management communications). During these visits, documentary evidence of the impact of the closure decision upon production performance was also collected (manufacturing output and quality performance data). Following plant closure, interviews were held with senior business, production and HRM managers and production personnel. A total of 12 interviews were carried out.

The case study findings have informed the development of a conceptual model of facility closure management. Information obtained from the interviews suggests that the facility closure management process consists of five key management activities. The unexpected announcement of a factory closure can cause behavioural changes similar to those of bereavement, particularly by those employees who are its survivors. In addition, similar reactions to the closure announcement may be displayed by those who choose to remain employed by the factory owner throughout the phased closure of the plant.

Facility closure management is an insufficiently researched strategic operations management activity. This paper details a recommended procedure for its management. A conceptual model has also been developed to illustrate the links between the key facility closure management tasks and the range of employee changes of behaviour that can be induced by their execution.

Since 1980, I have been heavily involved in manufacturing modernization. For much of that time, I ran a consulting business, in General Electric, that concentrated on factory modernization. We served such clients as Boeing, General Dynamics, GTE, Chrysler, and Italtel, the Italian phone company. For Chrysler, we designed “Chrysler Electronic City,” a state‐of‐the‐art factory for the manufacture of automotive electronics. For the last five years, I have been responsible for planning the manufacturing modernization activities of Black & Decker's U.S. Power Tools operations. My objective, in this article, is to share with you some of what I have learned on the subject of manufacturing modernization. In addition, I will suggest an approach to factory modernization.

The purpose of this research is to improve efficiency of the traditional scheduling methods and explore a more effective approach to solving the scheduling problem in supply networks with genetic algorithms (GAs).

This paper develops two methods with GAs for detailed production scheduling in supply networks. The first method adopts a GA to job shop scheduling in any node of the supply network. The second method is developed for collective scheduling in an industrial cluster using a modified GA (MGA). The objective is to minimize the total makespan. The proposed method was verified on some experiments.

The suggested GAs can improve detailed production scheduling in supply networks. The results of the experiments show that the proposed MGA is a very efficient and effective algorithm. The MGA creates the manufacturing schedule for each factory and transport operation schedule very quickly.

For future research, an expert system will be adopted as an intelligent interface between the MRPII or ERP and the MGA.

From the mathematical point of view, a supply network is a digraph, which has loops and therefore the proposed GAs take into account loops in supply networks. The MGA enables dividing jobs between factories. This algorithm is based on operation codes, where each chromosome is a set of four‐positions genes. This encoding method includes both manufacture operations and long transport operations.

Retreat of the Critics. The publication, last month, of a series of six main articles on Work Study with an introductory leader in The Financial Times was yet further proof of the increasing interest and importance accorded by the nation at large to this decisive “tool of management” which has been, until comparatively recent years, the dream of a few, forward‐looking pioneers. During the past year or two, however, increasing references have been made to Work Study on the radio and television, and in the daily press. As The Financial Times points out: “The critical voices seem now to be growing fainter. For example, no less than 800 industrialists from every part of the country attended the recent conference on Work Study at Harrogate, organised by the British Institute of Management.”

THE rapid growth and development of the aircraft industry has necessitated prompt decision and action in handling the many problems in connexion with the erection and equipment of aerodrome buildings, hangars, workshops and factories. In the urgency of providing the industry with all its varied requirements, it is not surprising that lire insurance planning has to a very large extent been crowded out. There are, no doubt, several reasons for this and in the welter of plans and designs that have been drawn and re‐drawn, the necessity of complying with the clients' requirements, numerous rules and regulations of local authorities and Acts of Parliament, etc., the benefits which accrue to wise planning from a fire insurance point of view have not always been fully appreciated. The need for increased output has in many cases pressed very heavily on those making the necessary preparations, and frequently no serious thought has been given to fire insurance planning. There are some persons who are under the impression that, having conformed with the numerous rules and requirements, they have carried out all that can be done in this direction.

IN view of the ever‐increasing application of time and motion study techniques in this country it is difficult to understand why so few manufacturers of time and labour‐saving equipment advertise the very items required by work study engineers.