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Characteristics of microelectronics automation and the role of production engineers—The case of Japan based on a questionnaire survey
Author(s) -
Kondo Masayuki
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
human factors and ergonomics in manufacturing and service industries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.408
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1520-6564
pISSN - 1090-8471
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6564(199921)9:2<185::aid-hfm4>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - automation , work (physics) , manufacturing engineering , production (economics) , microelectronics , engineering , key (lock) , engineering management , computer science , mechanical engineering , computer security , economics , electrical engineering , macroeconomics
This article clarifies that the main distinctive characteristics of microelectronics (ME) automation differentiating it from mechanical automation are knowledge requirements because of the difficulty of the new technology and resulting changes in the content of work and the size and structure of the work force. Thus, the key success factors to introduce ME automation are extensive involvement of production engineers as well as shop floor workers, and training essentially almost all workers to become knowledge workers. The article further discusses the differences by types of industry, types of processes, sizes of factories, levels of automation, and timing of automation. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.