An Example of an E-learning Solution for an International Curriculum in Manufacturing Strategy

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1 An Example of an E-learning Solution for an International Curriculum in Manufacturing Strategy Asbjørn ROLSTADÅS Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway Tel: ; Fax: ; Abstract. Manufacturing industry has over the last decade become global and is operating in an integrated supply chain using e-work technology. In order to meet this challenge, education must reflect these changes and must become globally oriented. For this reason the IMS project Global Education in Manufacturing (GEM) has been launched. The main objective of GEM is to develop a new curriculum covering both manufacturing technology and manufacturing business a Master degree in Manufacturing Strategy. It shall meet the challenges of training for extended enterprise and extended products taking into account that the need for training and education in digital business differs from the traditional situation. The need for continuous competence development and on the job training creates a new learning atmosphere that requires new pedagogic approaches. GEM will be based on a hybrid solution that combines on campus and computer based training (e-learning) and use multimedia and Internet. 1. Introduction IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing Systems) is an international research co-operation spanning over a number of regions. Currently there are 7 regions: EU, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Australia. Each region funds its own participation in the projects as soon as IMS has given its endorsement. There is a regional secretariat in each region and an international secretariat that circulates amongst the regions. The activity is overlooked by a steering committee with representatives appointed by all regions. The IMS steering committee has requested a curriculum in manufacturing strategy. The committee has made provisions for that in their definition of the IMS technical themes, item 4 Human/organisational/social issues : Engineering education has often tended to emphasise theory over process. In addition, basic education has not always met the needs of industry, producing graduates with often inadequate skills. This has led to industries that are poor at turning innovation into successful products. This necessitates a change in priorities and closer ties between industry and educational institutions. As well, changes in system organisation means that training within companies is a continuous process, which seeks to update the skills and increase the potential of employees - the crucial elements in any system. In response to this request, a project called GEM (Global Education in Manufacturing) has been proposed. IMS gave its endorsement to the project in April The following regions are participating: EU, Switzerland, USA, Japan, and Australia. (Other IMS regions may join later.) The initiative has been European and EU holds the position as the international co-ordinator of the project.

2 The funding of the EU and Norwegian participation has been provided by the European Union as an accompanying measure under the IST programme. This European project also includes the Swiss participation (although not funded by EU) and is called GEM-EUROPE. There were originally 6 partners in GEM-EUROPE: SINTEF (Norway), BIBA (Germany), CIMRU (Ireland), Alfamicro (Portugal), NTNU (Norway), and EPFL (Switzerland). The project has been amended with 8 new partners from NAS: Cy (Bulgaria), PWr (Poland), CUT (Poland), SZTAKI (Hungary), CRIMM (Romania), VGTU (Lithuania), and SMK (Slovenia). In order to obtain a wide coverage in Europe, there are in addition four agent universities acting as subcontractors: University of Aix-Marseilles (France), University of Zaragoza (Spain), Politechnico di Milano (Italy), and University of Nottingham (UK). In order to secure industrial relevance, each academic partner has to bring at least one industrial associate. There are 24 industrial associates in GEM-EUROPE. This means that the European consortium in total covers 42 organisations in 16 countries. For the other participating IMS regions (USA, Japan, and Australia) there are a total of 7 academic partners and 13 industrial associates. In GEM there are consequently 62 organisations involved: 23 universities and 39 industries. Some of the industries are industrial federations with a large number of members. This paper will describe some of the trends observed in manufacturing industry and will give the objectives of the GEM project to meet the need for education and training for this future manufacturing industry. It will describe some of the ideas that have been developed for delivery of education and training. 2. Competitive strategies for the manufacturing industry Competitiveness was during the 1990-ies developed as a field of great concern to industry. Several studies have thrown light over the competitive balance between enterprises in various geographical regions. One example is the MIT study Made in America that focuses on the competitiveness of US industry compared to Japan and Europe [1]. Another example is the work of Professor Porter studying the competitive advantage of nations [2]. This interest grew out of a number of changed market conditions such as [3]: Declining markets Global competition Customer satisfaction and quality excellence Life cycle requirements Environmental protection restrictions It created an image of the future enterprise as lean or agile. The customer is in focus. All activities in the company must add value for the customer. Otherwise they represent a waste of resources. The customer worries about price, quality, service, and delivery. Many believed that the solution was the virtual enterprise [4] or the extended enterprise [5]. The competition leading up to the virtual enterprise can be understood by studying the stakeholder model depicted in figure 1 [6]. This model emphasises that the company is competing in several marketplaces. Long-term survival and competitiveness are not limited to customers, but depend heavily on attractiveness towards the different stakeholders. In fact, most companies are competing for the best suppliers, the best lenders, the best alliance partners, the best employees, etc. This competition is mainly a matter of position and terms in the relationship between company and stakeholder, and has also led to a focus on supply chains rather than individual enterprises. Another important aspect in industrial development is process-oriented thinking [7]. To stay competitive is a continuous race. Industry must continuously improve itself. This has

3 led industry to focus on their core activities. Non-core activities are outsourced. The process-oriented approach identifies the business processes of the company. Each process is then studied and re-engineered with a focus of value added for the customer, and to be as competitive as possible. Authorities Owners Management Suppliers Customers Financial institutions Competitors Employees Environment Alliance partners Figure 1 The Stakeholder Model. The new competitive situation has forced the development of new business operation strategies. Each strategy has a focus area that in historical sequence is: Cost to reduce operational cost as much as possible Market to increase market share Organisation to develop a more effective organisation Business to find new and improved way of business operation Examples of strategies are shown in table 1 [8]. Table 1 Business Operation Strategies and Corresponding Focus Areas Strategy Focus area Cost Market Org. Business Lean manufacturing Agile manufacturing Just in time Globalisation Customisation Customer focus Integrated teams Network organisations Process orientation Supply chain mgt Quality management Extended enterprise The industry has over the last decade undergone a significant change. Digital business has become a strategy to survive. The extended enterprise is being implemented. Parts are made where conditions are most favourable. Non-core activities are out-sourced. These

4 service companies then become part of the supply chain that also spans suppliers and distributors. They all comprise an integrated international co-operative network to provide manufactured goods and support services for a world market just in time, at low prices and with quality surpassing customers expectations. Mechanical engineers, industrial engineers and electrical, electronic and computer engineers provide the engineering competence in such companies. Their basic education is discipline oriented with focus on mechanics, operation research, cybernetics, electronics, etc. To a limited extent this education reflects the real needs of the industry that faces problems of integrative nature across the traditional disciplines, such as: Working with digital tools for communication Working in a multicultural environment Working in interdisciplinary, multi-skill teams Sharing of work tasks on a global and around the clock basis Working in an virtual environment In addition the future engineer will have to take environmental considerations into account. Choice of materials and design solution cannot be done on purely technical and economical criteria, but must also take recycling, pollution and disassembly and reuse concerns into account. The future engineer must also work close to the customer. He or she will work more project oriented, and will have to combine practical know-how with theoretical insight. The manufacturing domain is practically oriented. New solutions and improvements are often found by experimenting in practice. This is different from other areas where general know-how and theory is dominating and often is the source of innovations. For manufacturing, it is essential that this practical know-how be built into future curricula. 3. The GEM-EUROPE project The main objectives of GEM are to: Define and understand the needs of the manufacturing industry for training and education in manufacturing strategy on a global basis to comply with the concept of digital business and extended products. Develop detailed specifications for a manufacturing strategy curriculum focusing on both manufacturing and business administration topics as outlined by the Danielmeyer meeting, October This curriculum will provide a basis for a world standard. Selected modules will be tested in all IMS regions applying a modern IT-based delivery of training and education (web-based multimedia solutions). The development of the curriculum shall be based on the following guiding principles: Ensure a focus on a learning environment rather than a teaching environment Highly focused on industrial needs with industry projects and ongoing involvement Prepare participants to serve in the new economy and to be change agents Award degree structures to participants based on industry needs as appropriate to each region and country Linkages to IMS projects for collaboration, expertise and case work as appropriate Ensure a viable business plan that shows sustainability and viability beyond the IMS project IMS accreditation of the degree Allow for multiple exit points for the student

5 The workplan contains 8 work packages and is organised in 3 project phases as shown in table 2. Table 2 Workplan structure Phase Phase title WP WP title 1 Definition of the industry s needs 1 Extended enterprise training needs 2 Training delivery mechanism 2 Development of draft curriculum 3 Draft curriculum 4 Develop demonstrator, evaluate concept Verification and development of final 3 5 Revise curriculum curriculum 6 Exploitation and dissemination In WP1 the purpose is to define the needs of the European industry both for training and education. In order to do this it is necessary to do studies in a number of selected enterprises both on their current best practice as well as cases and on what they see as the future trends and needs. In addition it is necessary to get an overview of the existing curricula in manufacturing. Traditional pedagogic approaches for learning are not effective enough for training of manufacturing systems architects of the extended enterprise. In WP2 different pedagogic approaches will be explored and demonstrators using multimedia tools for delivery will be developed and tested. Based on the needs developed in WP1, a curriculum at post-graduate level will first be drafted and then checked and finally adjusted in WP4 and WP5. In WP4 a short course (5 days) within covering essential aspects of production based on digital business will be developed. The course will experiment with different learning approaches and the relevance will be verified by seeking the participation of course participants from industry. WP6 is devoted to dissemination and exploitation. The main results will be an international standard for a curriculum in manufacturing strategy to comply with the e-era need of industry and to be delivered at times and places suitable for persons in daily work in industry. The participating universities in their education will exploit this. In addition there will be traditional dissemination activities. In order to obtain a best possible use of the resources of the project, the consortium will carry out an internal assessment and review (WP7). A procedure will be developed with a checklist for evaluating intermediate results. WP8 is project management. To reflect the new needs of industry, the curriculum in manufacturing strategy could be built on seven modules as indicated in Figure 2. The curriculum is for a Masters degree and is equivalent to two full year of study. This includes a thesis in addition to the modules. It will be based on traditional Bachelor degrees in f. ex. mechanical, electrical or manufacturing engineering. However, it will deviate from the traditional education by focusing on tomorrow s industrial situation requiring enterprise architects and product architects. These two types of engineering knowledge will be created through the Masters degree combining the enterprise and the product architects to form manufacturing strategy. Manufacturing strategy includes both the enterprise architect and the product architect. The future education in manufacturing strategy must build industrial competence by providing a learning atmosphere in the company in co-operation between academia and industry. Traditional education in manufacturing systems engineering has proven unsuccessful in developing such a learning organization.

6 Manufacturing Strategy Curriculum Module A Development of extended products A1 A2 An Module B Digital business along supply chain B1 B2 Bn Module C End of life planning and operation C1 C2 Cn Module D Business op. and competitive strategy D1 D2 Dn Module E Intellingent manuf. processes E1 E2 En Module F Intelligent manuf. systems design F1 F2 Fn Module G Enterprise and product mod. and sim G1 G2 Gn Figure 2 Modular structure of the curriculum. The main results of GEM are: A set of best industry practices and cases suited for training in manufacturing strategy based on input from enterprises A survey of industry training and education needs in manufacturing strategy based on interviews input from all regions A survey of existing manufacturing engineering curricula A recommended pedagogic approach and delivery mechanism adapted to time and place independent training Specifications of a full international curriculum in manufacturing strategy published on a web-page and as a book. Demonstration and testing of selected modules An international industrial education workshop to confirm industrial needs and obtain support for a world standard for a manufacturing strategy curriculum. 4. Pedagogic approach Traditional pedagogic approaches for learning are not effective enough for training of manufacturing systems architects of the extended enterprise. State of the art principles must therefore be applied. These principles will comply with the needs of a learning organisation as defined by Peter Senge. According to Senge, what fundamentally distinguishes learning organisations from traditional organisations is explained by the mastery of five basic disciplines: Personal Mastery Individual commitment to learning, the importance placed on intrinsic motivation.

7 Mental Models Shared Vision Team Learning Systems thinking The term mental models is not expressly defined, but in essence, it is equivalent to the concept of paradigm an integrative set of ideas and practices that shape the way people view and interact with the world. Comes from personal visions and creates the need for learning and the collective will to learn. Learning of groups of people who need one another to act successfully. Gaining shared insight into complexity and how we can shape change. It is not just how we learn, but what we learn. Learning will be based on model-based training. This will comply with the Kolbian learning model that claims that the full cycle of the following aspects must be included: Idea proposal Experiment preparation Experiment execution Result analysis This model is ideal for model-based training (virtual laboratory) and for integration of theory and practice. Training delivery will use a service integrating multimedia user interface for learning, searching and configuring competencies. The interface will also support various multimedia services, such as mailing, application sharing, video conferencing etc. There are three different modes for delivery of the content [9]: On-campus - traditional classroom setting where both the instructor and the learners are located in the same room and are communicating face to face. Tele conferencing - instructor and learners are not physically in the same room, but can communicate in real time both one-to-many and one-to-one Web-based training - the learners choose both the time and space for study and all communication is over the Internet In GEM, the delivery model will probably be a mixture of three modes referred to as hybrid learning [9]: Self-paced learning using rich media through Internet Collaborative group work using synchronized/non-synchronized virtual classroom On-campus The hybrid model has been tested through collaboration between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian School of Management BI, Cranfield School of Management and the University of Calgary. Together these institutions are delivering a project management education at using hybrid learning, see figure 3 [10]. Plenary session 1 Virtual session 1 Virtual session 2 Virtual session 3 Plenary session 2 P R E P A R A T I O N Project Organisation - Leadership and Teambuilding - Stakeholder Relationships Planning and Control -Project Finance - Contract Management, - Risk Management Project assignment -EHS and QA -Sourcing and Procurement - International Projects Summary / Examination Figure 3 Example of hybrid learning model

8 5. Conclusion Hybrid learning is probably the future solution for providing education and training to the employees of the manufacturing industry. The delivery of the training will have to take into account the needs of industry, both with respect to the content and with respect to a delivery model minimizing the need to be away from daily work. Existing curricula in manufacturing does not sufficiently cover the needs of the future industry with respect to providing a background both in technology and management aspects and focusing on the future work model based on digital business and extended products. Therefore the GEM project will develop a curriculum in manufacturing strategy as a Masters program. The project will only develop the detailed specifications and will make these free available to all. The hope is that this will be adopted by various universities all over the world and thus develop into a world standard. For this reason GEM is run as an international IMS project involving EU, Switzerland, USA, Japan, and Australia. Industrial relevance is a key point. However, universities traditionally deliver education and must therefore have a key position in developing the curriculum. It is therefore necessary to establish a co-operation with industry. Two mechanisms are envisaged for this: the inclusion of a special type of partners referred to as industrial associates and the definition of training needs through an industrial survey. The GEM-EUROPE project is the EU and Swiss participation in the IMS GEM project. GEM-EUROPE started on February 1 st 2002 and has a duration of 30 months. References [1] Dertouzos, Micchael L, Lester, Richard K., Solow, Robert M., and the MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity (1989): Made in America: Regaining the Productivity Edge. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press. [2] Porter, M., E. (1990): The Competive Advantage of Nations. London, Macmillan. [3] Rolstadås, A. (1994): Beyond Year Production Management in the virtual Company. IFIP WG5.7 Conference on Evaluation of Production Management Methods, Gramudo, Brazil, March. Elsevier Science Publishers. [4] Kimura, F. (1993): Virtual Manufacturing Environment. IMS Globemann 21 Meeting. Kyoto. [5] Jagdev, H. S.; Browne, J.(1998): The Extended Enterprise - A Context for Manufacturing, International Journal of Production Planning and Control, Volume 9 number 3. [6] Bredrup, H. (1995): Performance Measurement in a Changing Competitive Industrial Environment: Breaking the Financial Paradigm, University of Trondheim. [7] Harrington, J.J. (1991): Business Process Improvement: The Breakthrough Strategy for Total Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness. McGraw-Hill, New York, N.J. [8] Rolstadås, A. (2000): Business Operation by Projects, IFIP World Computer Congress, Beijing, August [9] Rolstadås, A.; Hussein,B. (2002): Hybrid Learning in Project Management Potentials and Challenges, PMI Conference, Seattle, USA, July [10]Kolltveit, B.J., Rolstadås, A. (1999): Competence Development in Project Business Environment, Nordnet 99 Conference, Helsinki, September 1999).