COMPUTER-INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING: A TAXONOMY OF INTEGRATION AND RESEARCH ISSUES

The past decade has seen an upsurgence in the number of manufacturing companies that are attempting to transform into computer-integrated enterprises. However, much of the computer-based integration efforts in these manufacturing organizations have been limited in scope and localized within certain areas of the organization (particularly, technology-intensive areas such as the shop floor). Such compartmentalized and myopic approaches to the development of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems undermine the ability of these systems to reach their fullest potential. CIM is much larger in scope and can impact an organization along various dimensions and at various levels. The fact that no completely integrated manufacturing enterprise has been developed to date can be attributed, in part, to a lack of understanding of the scope and implications of CIM. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, twofold. First, the paper presents a meta-schema (called TRIAD) for multidimensional and multilevel integration of a manufacturing system. Second, on the basis of the proposed meta-schema, the paper develops a taxonomical framework for defining key integration issues in CIM system design and discusses critical research needs that exist in this area. It is hoped that this paper will serve as a road map for research efforts that will enable the emergence of comprehensive CIM systems.