CIM – A Tool for Continuous ImprovementMiddlesex University – London, UK

arunmidturi@gmail.com

Manufacturing companies today are facing challenges to increase their productivity and meet the growing demand for diversified products. Customers always want a variety of products in right quantities, with high quality at good price and speedy delivery. With traditional methods manufacturers are finding it difficult to meet the demand in global market competition and are not able to satisfy customer requirements. To stay in global market competition, modern manufacturing industries are trying to implement new concepts like: Just – in – Time (JIT), Lean Manufacturing, Total Quality Control (TQC), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), over all Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). Small group of activities in the manufacturing industries are interlinked with each other and give an opportunity to develop skills and confidence to the members in the industry. This paper discusses the relationship between the Computer Integrated Manufacturing with Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED). Before implementing CIM, it is important that the industry should follow the basic principles of Total Quality Control (TQC) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Lean Manufacturing. Introducing the concept of Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) in industry has an advantage of improving the productivity of the product and increasing the performance of machine and product quality. This paper discusses productivity improvement using CIM.

Key Words: Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) and over all Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

Introduction:

After the industrial Revolution they were major changes in manufacturing, mining and agriculture spreading throughout the world as globalization. The onset of industrial revolution played a vital role in human history and in every aspect of daily life and eventually influenced in some way. After the industrial revolution takes place and the people started they own industries and kept competitiveness among themselves and after some years the industries Manufacturers today want different types of technologies and methods to improve their productivity, and to reduce the waste and improve the quality of the product and productivity and in reduction in cost and improving the machine performance and setting an automated factory of the future. Manufacturing with Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED). Before Implementing the Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) in the industry, it is important that the industry should follow the basic methods like Total Quality Control (TQC) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Lean Manufacturing. Introducing the concept of Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) in industry has an advantage of improving the productivity of the product and increase in the performance of the machine and the product quality. New concepts like Just – in – Time (JIT), Lean Manufacturing, Total Quality Control (TQC), Total Productive Maintenance

(TPM), Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED), Over all Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) .

These all relate to computer integrated manufacturing - popularly known as CIM. Profitability, with or without automation, remains the bottom line for any industry. The hope that profit can be increased or maximized with automation has been the driving force for CIM. Profitability can also be measured in manufacturing terms such as less WIP (work in progress), reduced scrap and shorter cycle times. Simply, the CIM concept is a combination of all production-related activities to be completely integrated by means of computer-supported systems. In the early 1980s, the development of "factories of the future" with various degrees of automation and success.

Manufacturers are expected to be found in the production and engineering areas; the remaining one-third will be in general business operations. True CIM installations are primarily in production plants previously CIM was primarily isolated "islands of automation" in engineering, manufacturing. Today's industrial enterprise represents a complex organization--one that brings together people, resources, and facilities in order to develop, manufacture, and market products profitably. In order to maintain its profitability, the enterprise must also have the flexibility to react to changing market conditions.

The first step in achieving such flexibility is establishing an information system that can be reshaped whenever necessary. This system will be capable of responding to the changing requirements of the enterprise and the environment. What's more, this reshaping must be accomplished with minimal cost and disruption to the enterprise.

No doubt automation will play a key role in this information system. But automation alone cannot shorten lead times, reduce inventories, and minimize excess capacity to the extent required by today's enterprise. This can only be accomplished by integrating information throughout the enterprise. The result is that individual departments will be able to work, communicate, and respond as a team.