Overview

Indicative content includes:

Manufacturing processes / technology

• Appreciate the range of materials, technologies and processes involved in current best practice manufacturing for metals, ceramics, composites and polymers including the main interactions between process and material.
• Select and optimise methods and manufacturing processes, including how to form or join materials and how those materials might fail or degrade in use.
• Understand the influence of microstructure on materials performance and the ways in which microstructure is influenced by processing.
• Understand the factors which control the microstructure of metallic components (e.g. castings, forgings, pressings etc), their consequences for final properties and design for manufacture considerations.
• Understand the fundamentals of heat treatment of metals and alloys and can select appropriate treatment methods.
• Be aware of common techniques for destructive and non-destructive testing and how to apply these.

Manufacturing systems engineering

• Understand the stages of planning and implementing integrated manufacturing systems, including the major pitfalls and how to avoid them..
• Understand the principles and application of robotics; PLC control and sensors in automation, fixtures and end-effectors, programmable logic controllers, CNC machine control, pneumatics and mechatronics and factory communications technology.
• Understand the basic principle of machine and cell control and how to integrate machines into the wider production system.
• Know the operational aspects of the main categories of machining processes.
• Understand the types of interaction between components and process tooling.
• Understand the factors that affect the accuracy and precision of machining and grinding operations.
• Know the different types of sensor used in automation, and understand the importance of their correct application in designing robust systems.
• Specify, operate and manage production machines and systems including test planning.
• Plan and carry out an assigned automation task and to integrate this with other complementary tasks to deliver a fully functioning automated manufacturing system.
• Be able to write a simple functional specification for an automated system..
• Understand the importance of surface treatments and coatings for engineering components and the manufacturing systems that provide these.
• Understand the use of tooling management systems (e.g. SMED) and how these methods are used to improve efficiency.
• Understand that any engineering project that involves equipment being commissioned should have Test and Evaluation incorporated into the system life-cycle.
• Understand how the theory of constraints, and methods for line balancing can be applied to production and assembly line planning, including for reducing cycle time and moving work elements

Process / production control

• Understand the types of interaction between components and process tooling.
• Understand the various control strategies used to mitigate the sources of error in machining processes.
• Understand the issues in cell-level control and be able to model cell operations using Petri Nets and Ladder Logic.
• Know the means by which machining cells are integrated into factory wide operations.
• Describe the major influences on the efficient flow of work through a factory, apply MRP techniques to scheduling, describe the implications of different co-ordination structures on job design, describe how improvement processes relate to co-ordination strategies.
• Understand how manufacturing operations are integrated with other aspects of the business; how operations are managed across supply networks; and the role of different IT systems in supporting operations across the supply chain.

Engineering operations management / lean manufacture

• Understand the importance of operational paradigms and how they are integrated together in managing operations (e.g. lean and agile operations).
• Understand the role of inventory in manufacturing systems, and apply basic ordering, replenishment, and forecasting techniques.
• Understand how manufacturing operations are integrated with other aspects of the business; how operations are managed across supply networks; and how the Internet affects manufacturing..
• Analyse simple operational systems to enable discrete event models and spreadsheet models to be defined.
• Understand how complex industrial processing and manufacturing systems are maintained and managed and the challenges associated with these.
• Understand of the importance of design for manufacture in the development of new products.
• Optimise the operation of current equipment and processes, based on a review of operational requirements and available resources.
• Understand the major influences on the efficient flow of work through a factory, apply MRP techniques to scheduling, describe the implications of different co-ordination structures on job design, and describe how improvement processes relate to co-ordination strategies.

Quality Assurance

• Apply principles and techniques of metrology (measurement), including Measurement System Analysis (MSA) to determine the accuracy of product components.
• Apply techniques of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing to ensure that product components conform to design requirements.
• Understand the role of statistical process control techniques (SPC) recognized to ensure the quality level of products.
• Apply the principles and techniques of Total Quality Management in improving quality practices within an engineering organisation.
• Select and develop appropriate instrumentation techniques to measure product and process performance.
• Understand how to improve quality procedures using quality assurance techniques, including Failure Mode and Effect Analyses (FMEA), Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP).
• Understand the range of national and international quality assurance standards such as ISO 9000/9001 and TS 16949.
• Apply Lean Manufacturing tools and Six Sigma methodology to address the identification of waste from a process and to address problems process quality and consistency.

Sustainable manufacturing

• What is meant by sustainability in an industrial context and the role of standards such as ISO 14001.
• The drivers of, and barriers to, sustainable manufacturing, including systems approaches to sustainability and how businesses may respond to the sustainability challenge.
• Appreciate that products have an associated carbon footprint and the main principles used to determine that.
• Understand what is meant by sustainability in an industrial context.
• Understand the drivers of and barriers to sustainable manufacturing.
• Understand the practical limits of sustainability in an industrial and global context.
• Understand the implications of resource scarcity.
• Understand the growing importance of design for remanufacture and the concept of the circular economy to retain control of products and materials throughout the product life cycle, reducing life cycle costs of products and increasing sustainability.
• Understand the importance of design for disposal or reuse: The end-of-life of a product is an important consideration, especially where products contain toxic chemicals or other hazardous substances require careful disposal.

Supply chain management

• Demonstrate an understanding that supply chains are composed of complex networks of organisations, people, activities, information and resources.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the basics of supply chain activities from natural resources to a finished product delivered to the end-user.
• Understand the relationship between supply chains and value chains.
• Understand that the make-versus-buy decision is based upon three key criteria; business strategy, product supply chain risks, and economic factors.
• Understand the commercial aspects of supply chain management, including how to manage contracts by managing risks and interpreting financial, technical and performance data, and including ITT, RFP, contract negotiation and dispute management.
• Be able to plan and schedule activities efficiently and manage resources effectively to respond to demand .

Learning Outcomes

• Describe sustainable manufacturing systems.

• Identify and explain characteristics of sustainable manufacturing processes.

• Recognise the requirements of Quality Assurance and Supply Chain Management.

• Summarise methods and practices for sustainable process/production control and operations management.