Handling complexity in a small engineering business.

Abstract

The research consists of a field study investigation of the problems faced by a small unit production engineering division of a large corporation and centres around problems of manufacturing control and internal coordination. The sponsoring corporation("The Union") limited the investigation to Plant and Equipment Division (P & E.D.);Coventry ; this handicapped somewhat the analysis of how changes in P & E.D. affected other parts of the Union. The researcher was based in Production Planning Department but gained first-hand knowledge of machine shop production control, assembly shop kit marshalling and pre-production coordination of efforts...