ABSTRACT
Managing materials and parts then becomes a matter of managing subcontractors as well as operations within the parent company. If the project is sufficiently large and complex a specialist group of staff will be required for this role. The depressing scenario is a common one but much of this could be avoided if more attention and greater understanding was applied to the planning. An acceptance of realities, including building in contingencies, is essential for the manufacturing programme must be both realistic and achievable. In particular, the 'line-of-balance' method for stock level reporting became popular during the 1950s but it is now being replaced by more elaborate manufacturing resource planning (MRP) systems. The subject of this case study is a materials management system that was designed from the outset for development work, where the projects require a long series of proving trials each needing large quantities of hardware in a variety of standards and made by a number of subcontractors.
