Crossing the Border The Social and Engineering Design of Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems

Crossing the Border examines the emergence of a new philosophy based on the idea of "human-centred technology" and, through the use of a case study, illustrates the ways in which users, social scientists, managers and engineers can participate in the design and development of human-centred computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) system. The book offers a unique insight into a large European project (ESPRIT project 1217) aimed at the design and development of a human-centred CIM system. The book examines the problems inherent in developing interdisciplinary design methods and of "crossing the border" between the social and engineering sciences. The authors offer proposals and guidelines for overcoming such problems based on their experience within this project. Crossing the Border will be of particular interest to researchers and practitioners in the area of factory automation, to students and researchers in AI, and to all those interested in the human and organisational issues surrounding the computerised factory of the future.

1. The Work-Oriented Shaping Perspective: The Problem Setting and Perspectives.- 1.1 Do We Need a New Paradigm.- 1.2 The Technique-Oriented Approach.- 1.3 The Sociotechnical Approach.- 1.4 The Human-Centred Approach.- 1.5 Towards a Work-Oriented Shaping Approach.- 1.6 Summary.- 2 The Interdisciplinary Design of Computer-Integrated Manufacturing Systems: ESPRIT Project 1217 (1199) Part One.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Experiences of Interdisciplinary Collaboration During the First Year of the Project.- 2.3 Evaluation of the First-Year Experiences in the Three National Groups.- 2.4 The “Shaping Paper” — Intentions, Reactions and Influence.- Interdisciplinary Collaboration in the Second Half of ESPRIT Project 1217 (1199).- 3.1 Experiences of Interdisciplinary Collaboration at the National Level.- 3.2 Experiences of Collaboration at the International Level.- 3.3 Lessons Learned.- 4 Crossing the Border.- 4.1 Crossing the Border — A Tentative Definition.- 4.2 Participatory Systems Development.- 4.3 The Shaping Process.- 4.4 Prospective Example of the Shaping Process as a Rolling Development.- 4.5 Summary and Conclusions.- References.