Progress toward the ‘factory of the future’

Despite the considerable attention being placed on the potential payoffs from programmable manufacturing technologies, remarkably little systematic research has been conducted on organisational plans, decisions, and associated actions. The 1982-3 factory automation surveys project of the Boston University Manufacturing Roundtable reported on here was designed to develop a broad managerial view of computer-aided manufacturing processes in the U.S. In each of our three surveys we had a specific target population in mind. The ‘user’ survey was aimed at discrete-part manufacturing organisations that were leaders in adopting factory automation technologies. This survey was designed to address ‘best practice’ at the level of a single strategic business unit and deals with specific automation projects. Our ‘supplier’ survey was aimed at the major producers of each of the various factory automation technologies. Here we sought the observations and opinions of senior marketing executives in those firms with the most success (and therefore experience) in supplying computer-based manufacturing technologies. Finally our ‘expert’ survey was designed to test some of our preliminary findings from the users and suppliers, including insights gathered from in-depth follow-up telephone interviews with respondents to those two surveys. We intentionally tried to identify a broad sample of individuals whose views would be based on extensive factory automation experience in different capacities. Respondents to our three surveys consisted of 57 user, 38 suppliers and 64 experts.