A step-by-step guide to the identification of an appropriate computer-aided production management system

The increasing dissatisfaction of users with their Computer-aided production management (CAPM) systems has been widely reported. This dissatisfaction led the UK's Science and Engineering Research Council to initiate a major study to improve CAPM systems use. The research results presented here form part of the overall initiative and focus on the development of a set of guiding principles for companies seeking to implement appropriate CAPM systems. The research team have identified three key elements that must be considered when implementing a CAPM system. First, that CAPM implementation can be eased if the overall manufacturing-system is first simplified. Second, we recognize that even then most companies will still require a computerized solution thus any methodology must include a software specification. Third, the overall performance of the system may be enhanced by changes to the infrastructure that supports the software. In attempting to meet these requirements the research team developed a four-stage methodology. The first two stages of the methodology deal primarily with the strategic context for CAPM, i.e. the simplification. The last two stages develop a software specification and present guidelines for the development of appropriate infrastructure configurations.