OM - Technology Flashcards
(15 cards)
Define CAM
Computer - aided manufacturing
The use of computers in production. It occurs in all sorts of industries – for example, the use of robotic welders in vehicle production
Evaluate CAM
+ CAM allows for standardised quality – accuracy.
+ Reliability – less waste in manufacture
+ Lower labour production costs – less supervision
+ Greater customer satisfaction – fewer returns
+ Easy to adjust – speed – cheaper.
- Cost of setting up – buying the machinery and training of employees to use machinery
- Possible redundancy payments to unskilled workers
- Reputation of business if made redundant
Define CAD
Computer - aided Design
Computer-aided design is an interactive computer system that is capable of generating, storing and using computer graphics. It assists design engineers in solving design problems
Advantages of using CAD
+ Accurate designs can be constructed on a computer, which can be viewed in 3D and rotated in order to demonstrate the whole
range of possible images.
+ They can be easily and cheaply altered for a client - reduce lead time.
+ Designs can be accurately measured and tested on screen in order to detect faults prior to manufacturing.
+ Increased accuracy and ability to alter designs can reduce the cost of the design process.
+ Designs can be more easily stored and quickly retrieved.
+ Considerable sums of money can be saved by eliminating the production and testing of expensive prototypes.
+ Testing programmes can also be included, e.g. wind tunnels
Disadvantages of using CAD
- Cost of setting up – buying the machinery and training of employees to use machinery.
- Possible redundancy payments to unskilled workers.
- Reputation of business if made redundant
Arguments for using technology instead of employing people
+ Robots can carry out repetitive tasks with great accuracy time after time – repetitive tasks undertaken by humans can lead to boredom, lack of motivation and human error.
+ They do dirty, dangerous jobs without complaining.
+ They do not get tired, sick, join trade unions, take days off.
+ Although initial costs high, long-term costs reduced.
+ Increased output – greater speed. Likely to be fewer mistakes/errors – better quality
Arguments against using technology instead of employing people
- Initial purchase cost can be very high and breakdowns can also be very expensive to resolve.
- Maintenance can be costly as downtime is required.
- Robots have proved to be too inflexible in final assembly where customer options have to be
catered for. - Reprogramming of robots can be very expensive indeed.
- They cannot problem solve.
- Maybe costly to keep up with technological achievements
Describe computer modelling
- Computers with the right info input can be used to model anything from wear and tear of a pair of shoes to the electricity
generated from a wind turbine in different wind conditions. - Use of modelling allows developers to try a huge range of ‘what if’ scenarios, such as ‘what happens to the life of the shoe when we change the stitching?’, or ‘what will happen to the efficiency of the wind turbine if we alter the angle of the blades by a few fractions of a degree?’.
- Using computer models allows businesses to perfect their products and continually improve
efficiency of production.
Advantages of using technology
+ Improved quality – thanks to their high precision and the ability to do the same thing in the same way day after day, robots and CAM processes have the ability to consistently produce top-quality products and accurately perform repetitive tasks.
+ Faster innovation – it is much easier and less expensive to model and test new products using CAD and computer modelling.
+ More effective marketing and sales – marketing new products encourages consumers to dump old products and buy new ones on a regular basis.
+ Less dependency on labour – this is important to the business in reducing costs, especially if employees had used their bargaining power to push for higher wages and improved conditions.
+ Increased productivity.
+ Reduced waste and costs.
+ Improved communications
Disadvantages of using technology
- The cost of buying the technology and training of employees to use it is high.
- Technology does not always work – production time that is lost can be very costly.
- Number of different labour costs related to the implementation of technology – some employees are likely to lose their jobs or the cost of retraining if specialised skills are needed
Impact of technological change on businesses
- Cost involved in having to frequently change and maintain machines.
- Increase productivity – more can be produced with less resources and as a result more profit can be made.
- New technology often results in time being saved and fewer materials being used, e.g. printing machines that waste less paper reduce waste.
- Improving the working environment – safer working environment in manufacturing modern equipment has made work easier and more tolerable.
- Technology leads to reduction in staffing needs – cost savings to businesses but leading to unemployment for members of staff.
- Need for re-training as new skills are required.
- Reduced employment levels as a result of technological change leading to lower costs.
- Easier to order - 24 hour shopping.
- More rapid delivery of goods
Impact of technological change on customers
- Rapid technological change and innovation has given customers wider choice of products, e.g. in terms of computer games, phones,
cameras and possibly higher standard of living. - Much of the technological change has occurred in ICT resulting in improved speed of communications.
- Existing products become obsolete more quickly
Communications technology
allows flexibility in the location of services and customer relations centres.
For example calls to the directory enquiries number 118118 are answered in Cardiff during the day and in the Philippines during the night.
Costs are therefore reduced and service standards improved.
Marketing is a key aspect of the effective use of information technology.
In its simplest form, it may be ‘how to find or contact us’; in its most complex form the web is used to gather detailed customer profiles to build a database and attempt to match these profiles.
* The internet allows a much wider geographical market to be targeted, cheaper advertising and
improved customer convenience.
* Information gathered from browsing and purchasing habits allows sophisticated targeted
marketing to take place, generating potential sales
automatically.
* The digital revolution has had a huge effect on the business world – social networking is now a well established marketing tool, tablets and portable devices are used in offices and mobile phones are
used to buy products online.
How can IT increase a businesses productivity
- secretaries have preformatted letters
- databases are held on customers improving customer relations
- cash flow is modelled so improving financial efficiency
- bar codes and EPOS systems are used to manage stock
