1-2 The Economic Role of Manufacturing: Chapter1: Introduction To Manufacturing 5

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO MANUFACTURING 5
engine fulfilled the same function. The difference is that microelectronics allows
the control of a large number of variables at a substantial level of sophistication.
Some consequences of these developments are already noticeable: Many
dangerous, physically demanding, or boring jobs are performed by machines or
robots equipped with programmable controllers; product variety is increasing;
quality is improving; productivity—as expressed by output per unit labor—is
rising; demand on natural resources is decreasing. There are also signs of possible
undesirable consequences, in particular, the decline in the number of people
employed in traditional fields. It is not clear whether the new technologies will
create an adequate number of new jobs. We are facing an uncertain economic
future, in which the role of manufacturing is often hotly debated.
1-2 THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF MANUFACTURING

Manufacturing has often been cast as the villain on the stage of human develop-
ment. Indeed, the first industrial revolution began with little concern for the very
people who made this revolution possible. Yet the factory was the alternative
willingly chosen by the masses seeking to escape their rural existence: The idyllic,
pastoral qualities of rural life extolled by poets and writers were mostly imagin-
ary, while reality was burdened with famine and disease. Modern demographic
studies show that the misery of rural life prompted people to crowd into cities
even before the first industrial revolution. Since then, the excesses of the early
industrial revolution have been moderated and the growth of manufacturing has
led to undeniable advances, not only in providing an abundance of material
possessions, but also in creating the economic basis for genuine improvements in
the quality of life.
There are no universal measures to express well-being but, in the absence of
better measures, the gross national product (GNP; the sum of the value of all
goods and services produced in a national economy) can be taken as a measure of
material well-being. Even for this, it is an imperfect measure because it excludes
the value of all work performed in the home, by voluntary organizations, etc.
Thus it presents a distorted picture in favor of industrially developed nations.
If one analyzes the components of the GNP, it is evident that material wealth
comes from only two substantial, basic sources: material resources, and the
knowledge and energy that people apply in utilizing these resources. Agriculture
and mining are of prime importance, yet they represent only 5-8% of the GNP of
industrially developed nations. Manufacturing had claimed the largest single
share, at least until the 1950s. Indeed, one could make the argument that the
mark of an industrially developed nation is the proportionately large contribution
of manufacturing to national wealth. A review of typical data for industrialized
and developing nations is instructive. The data plotted in Fig. 1-1 should not be
taken at face value, since they are distorted by the differences in the purchasing
power of local currencies and by the exclusion of all unpaid services which make
up such a large portion of wealth generated, especially in the industrially less
developed countries. Nevertheless, the overall conclusion is clear: For nations
6 I N T R O D U C T I O N TO M A N U F A C T U R I N G PROCESSES
Contribution of manufacturing to GNP, %

FIGURE 1-1
In general, nations more intensively engaged in-manufacturing enjoy a higher standard of
living, at least as it is expressed by the per capita output of the economy. (Data compiled from
World Development Report, World Bank/Oxford University Press, New York. 1982.)
otherwise similarly endowed with natural resources and human talent, there are
large differences in the material standard of living, and these differences can be,
very approximately, related to the contribution of manufacturing to overall
economic activity.
With the advent of the second industrial revolution, some observers argue that
the importance of manufacturing is or will be diminishing. They note the rapid
increase of the component of the GNP attributable to information processing
and to services in general. They speak of a post-industrial society and argue that
"low technology" production (such as textile, shoe, agricultural machinery, and
automobile production) should be allowed to move to low-wage countries while
post-industrial societies should concentrate on selected "high technology" in-
dustries such as aerospace and biotechnology and—more and more—on infor-
mation technology and, in particular, on information processing.
This book starts from the premise that, while information technology is
undoubtedly gaining in importance, it alone cannot create the wealth required to
CHAPTER 1: I N T R O D U C T I O N TO M A N U F A C T U R I N G 7
maintain high living standards, nor can it pay for the importation of all
manufactured products. Manufacturing has lost none of its importance: While
employment in manufacturing may well decline in relative terms, the contri-
bution of manufacturing to the GNP must be maintained. For this, it is essential
that manufacturing should be competitive, not only locally but—with the shrink-
ing of our world—on a global basis. Indeed, one measure of economic develop-
ment is the proportion of manufactured goods and information services in the
export trade of a nation.
Competitiveness can be achieved only by attaining a high level of productivity.
Manufacturing productivity is a key issue of economic development, and nations
falling behind in this respect find their living standards gradually eroding.
Exceptional natural resources may, for a short time, boost living standards but,
judging from experience to date, only manufacturing can create a permanent
basis of economic well-being. Manufacturing includes, of course, the production
of nondurables and semidurables. In the narrower sense adopted here, we will
limit ourselves to the manufacture of "hardware," articles of production and
consumption, both durable and semidurable.
1 -3 MANUFACTURING AS A TECHNICAL ACTIVITY
Without manufacturing, there would be little need for engineers and technol-
ogists or, indeed, for many of the people who are engaged in supporting
activities. Manufacturing is a central function of most technically educated
people, although in more recent times they have often failed to recognize this
themselves. The reason is to be found in the rapid expansion of knowledge which
has, inevitably, led to a fragmentation of engineering and technology into many
disciplines and subdisciplines. Creative people active in many of the basic
engineering disciplines have often forgotten that the ultimate purpose of all
engineering activity is to produce something tangible and salable, hopefully for
the benefit of humanity. Today, in a climate of intense international competition,
we cannot afford to ignore this truth. It is, therefore, essential to recognize that
every technical decision carries a manufacturing implication, and it has a marked
effect on costs. To quote but a few examples:
1 The jet engine is a machine designed on the basis of thermal and fluid
engineering principles. The engine consists of essentially three sections: air is
compressed in the compressor section; fuel is introduced and burned with the
compressed air in the combustor section; hot gases generated in the combustor
section drive the turbine which turns the compressor and provides the thrust (Fig.
1-2). Thermodynamic efficiency increases with increasing turbine entry tempera-
ture, and fuel consumption drops (Fig. l-3a). Adding a large fan to the intake
end allows air, ducted around the outside of the engine, to mix with the hot gases
coming from the turbine. Such fan engines are more efficient and also less noisy.

1-2 The Economic Role of Manufacturing: Chapter1: Introduction To Manufacturing 5

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1-2 The Economic Role of Manufacturing: Chapter1: Introduction To Manufacturing 5

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

1-2 The Economic Role of Manufacturing: Chapter1: Introduction To Manufacturing 5

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO MANUFACTURING 5

1-2 THE ECONOMIC ROLE OF MANUFACTURING

Contribution of manufacturing to GNP, %

1 -3 MANUFACTURING AS A TECHNICAL ACTIVITY

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.