Managing Manufacturing Operations in the U.K.

This paper describes some of the major findings relating to the management of manufacturing operations which have emerged from survey work originally carried out in conjunction with the British Institute of Management. More detailed follow-up studies are also outlined relating to delivery performance and a particular industrial sector: capital electronics goods. The paper summarises the main results of the original survey based on replies from manufacturing managers in 186 plants (representing 158 companies), relating to the characteristics of the companies surveyed, the personal and career details of the responding managers, the nature of the manufacturing operations carried out in the 186 plants, particularly with regard to customer delivery performance and manufacturing lead times, use of computers and sophisticated techniques in manufacturing, and the control systems used in the initiation of production orders. Finally, calling on data from later studies, an attempt is made to focus attention on the key issues in manufacturing management as they relate to U.K. industrial performance.