This thesis presents an approach which the small and medium size firms can use in-house
to introduce manufacturing information systems. The approach developed is
generic and employs information system design and analysis techniques to guide
Small and Medium size Enterprises (SME's) from specification of their need, right
through to the implementation of an appropriate solution. Although there are
various tools and methodologies that are available for large organisations needs,
none are available for SME's. Therefore, the approach presented in this thesis
provides original and significant improvements on current practice.
The approach emphasises the importance of taking a company wide approach to
analyse systems throughout its various departments to establish bad practices and
system flaws which may impinge on the performance of the manufacturing
operations.
The research involved three independent stages. The first stage was the
identification of the problem which was realised from two sources: literature survey
and interviews with case study company managers. The second stage was the
development of a novel approach. The final stage included the validation of the
approach by implementing it in five different SMEs in the Devon and Cornwall
region.
Through the use of this work, company's are encouraged to improve ownership and
commitment to the manufacturing information systems by fully involving the
relevant company personnel in identifying and resolving various problems. The
approach proposed also helps managers understand how the various processes work
in other areas of company, and can subsequently lead to improvements in other
departments