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Why was the Next Generation
Manufacturing Enterprise Professional Group formed and what was
its scope?
In November 1995 a small working
party was established by the Manufacturing Division of the Institution
of Electrical Engineers (IEE) to consider the establishment of
a Professional Group within the IEE addressing the topic of Next
Generation Manufacturing Enterprise. The first full meeting of
this working Group was held in London in January 1996. Among
those participating was Dr Paul T. Kidd from Cheshire Henbury.
The Working Group achieved Professional Group (PG) status in
the fall of 1997.
The IEEs Manufacturing PGs
addressed the area of state-of-the-art manufacturing and ways
of improving business performance through competitive manufacturing
strategies and their effective implementation. The focus was
however on current best practice and it was felt that there was
also a need to look ahead to take a view on the changing shape
of manufacturing enterprises of the future which would have to
prosper in more competitive and turbulent markets. This was the
justification for establishing the "Next Generation Manufacturing
Enterprise (NGME) Professional Group" PG I7.
PGI7 covered the whole spectrum
of the manufacturing value chain and, unlike other Professional
Groups, did not focus on a specific functional area. It distinguished
itself from other PG's in terms of time and bredth. It took a
holistic view of the manufacturing enterprise and looked at future
issues and challenges which needed to be addressed by manufacturing
enterprises in order to survive and prosper in the long term.
The Professional Group was made up of a mix of industrialists,
consultants and academics to give a broadly based input to its
activities.
Key concepts for consideration
by PG I7 were:
- Global markets and competition.
- Global services and products.
- Customer service excellence.
- Agility and responsiveness
of organisations.
- Partnerships and relationships
within a more dynamic supply chain.
- Rapid changes in technology.
- Competitive value of knowledge.
Professional Group PG I7 concentrated
on the collection and dissemination of information within the
scope of future competitive advantage for the manufacturing enterprise.
To gain greater clarity of
thinking PGI7 developed a 'Next Generation Manufacturing Enterprise
Framework'. The work of developing this Next Generation Manufacturing
Enterprise Framework was undertaken by Dr Paul Kidd of Cheshire
Henbury, with inputs from colleagues on the PG. This framework
has been considerably refined, improved and extended by Paul
Kidd since its first publication back in 1997 and the current
version is available on this web site on the Agility
Home Page and the Manufacturing
2020 Home Page.
IEE PGI7, Next Generation Manufacturing
Enterprise, ceased its work in December 2000, when the IEE began
replacing its PGs with Professional Networks. |