The purpose of this book is to discuss the state of the art and future trends in the field of computerized production management systems. It is composed of a number of independent papers, each presented in a chapter. Some of the widely recognized experts in the field around the world have been asked to contribute. lowe each of them my sincere gratitude for their kind cooperation. I am also grateful to Peter Falster and Jim Browne for their kind support in helping me to review topics to be covered and to select the authors. This book is a result of the professional work done in the International Federation of Information Processing Technical Committee IFIP TC5 "Com puter Applications in Technology" and especially in the Working Group WG5. 7 "Computer-Aided Production Management". This group was established in 1978 with the aim of promoting and encouraging the advancement of the field of computer systems for the production management of manufacturing, off shore, construction, electronic and similar and related industries. The scope of the work includes, but is not limited to, the following topics: 1) design and implementation of new production planning and control systems taking into account new technology and management philosophy; 2) CAPM in a CIM environment including interfaces to CAD and CAM; 3) project management and cost engineering; 4) knowledge engineering in CAPM; 5) CAPM for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) and Flexible Assembly Systems (F AS); 6) methods and concepts in CAPM; 7) economic and social implications of CAPM.

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I Stages of Development in Production Management.- 1. Production Management Systems.- II Production Management Philosophies.- 2. MRP/MRP II.- 3. Just-in-Time Production A New Formulation and Algorithm of the Flow Shop Problem.- 4. The Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) Approach to Logistics.- 5. Period Batch Control.- 6. All-Embracing Production Control.- III Fundamental Techniques.- 7. Graph Theoretical Approaches.- 8. Simulation and Simulation Models.- 9. Operations Research Models and Techniques.- 10. Artificial Intelligence Approach to Production Planning.- IV The Computerized Production Management System.- 11. Databases.- 12. User Interface.- 13. Systems Analysis Techniques.- 14. Fourth Generation Languages.- 15. Design of a Generalized Job Shop Control System and PM Packages.- 16. Validation of Job Shop Control Software A Case Study.- V Some Important Aspects of Production Management Functions.- 17. Production Scheduling.- 18. Production Planning and Scheduling in Flexible Manufacturing Systems.- 19. Forecasting and Stock Control.- 20. Integration of PM into CIM.- VI Industrial Applications.- 21. Multi-Product Batch Production on a Single Machine A Problem Revisited.- 22. Production Control in Small Companies.- 23. Production Control in the Car Industry.- 24. Production Control in the Aircraft Industry.- 25. Job Shop Production Control.- 26. Production Control in the Electromechanical Industry.- 27. Production Control in the Electronics Industry.- A Drafted PM Glossary John L. Burbidge.- Address List of Authors.