ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts covered in this book. The book has been intended to integrate three major concerns in manufacturing: the flow of materials, the flow of information, and the flow of costs (or value). The unified, systematic study of manufacturing/production is termed 'manufacturing systems engineering', which emphasises six approaches: systems analysis and design for manufacturing, optimum decision-making in production, industrial automation and computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), and manufacturing information processing by computers. It also includes cost engineering and management for product and production process and social science for manufacturing issues. Manufacturing of goods by private firms is no longer confined within their domestic country; they can establish production sites in any foreign countries where labour costs are low, even though de-industrialisation occurs in their own country. The manufacturing ethic is of vital importance to achieve the ultimate goal of socially appropriate manufacturing.
