II. Vocabulary.

Ex.1. Make up the collocations

1. system	1. benefits
2 . intangible	2. approach
3. actual	3. costs
4. competitive	4. implementation
5 . manufacturing	5. implications

Ex.2. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word-combination from ex.1.

1. Therefore the approach to analysis and synthesis is a business-based …, where the functional model reflects the business, its processes, and its data.

2. They include greater productivity, which means a greater output and lower … on a smaller floor space.

3. It seems almost certain that the main reasons for implementing FMS are the economical … of the system.

4. This provides a detailed understanding the … associated with the system’s policies.

5. Research opportunities for … of simulation in automated systems exist primarily in scheduling and control applications.

III. Grammar.

Ex.1. Translate the following sentences paying your attention to the underlined words.

1. The systems approach to factory automation is undoubtedly the best way to achieve quality, productivity, and financial justification goals.

2. It is impossible to overemphasize the fact that successful factory automation implementation begins with a well-thought out long range manufacturing strategy.

3. Before the strategic planning can begin top management has to first set down the performance goals which the enterprise will be expected to achieve.

4. And information systems permit the quality of the products and the flow of production to be monitored and controlled in a real time.

5. New levels of communication and cooperation between the supplier and the user are required to gain the greatest benefits from the investments.

6. And the need for this kind of self-examination is often not recognized in the normal interplay between top management and the people that have to do the actual implementation.

IV. Comprehension.

Ex.1. Define the number of the passage from the text containing information about:

1. New automation requirements.

2. The system approach to factory automation.

3. The importance and the main goal of business plan.

4. The role of information systems in raising the product quality.

5. The determining of the main manufacturing strategy.

Ex.2. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. Thus, manufacturing problems must be looked at as isolated problems.

2. And integrated problems do not require integrated solutions.

3. The issue of closer relationships between suppliers and users is also becoming more important.

4. Factory automation investments are strategic decisions with short-term implications.

5. Factory automation is composed of engineering, manufacturing, information systems.

Ex.3. Answer the questions.

1. What is the key to success in planning factory automation systems?

2. What can you say about the issue of closer relationships between suppliers and users?

3. What is necessary for proper factory automation implementation?

4. What does factory automation provide?

5. What three major elements of the business does factory automation affect?

Ex.4. Choose from the episodes 1-5 the one which fits each gap A-E in the text.

1. During the process of analysis and design, it is essential that the user and the system people be brought together. It is useful to encourage the data structure definition to be done by the system people in a top-down approach, with the activity and process definitions being done in a bottom-up approach.

2. Because we do not often start from scratch, we usually take existing manufacturing systems and define and plan how to improve them. It is particularly helpful in the planning phase to have a conceptual model of the system in question. The components of the system model are people, processes, data, automation technologies and material. The relationships among these components may be organizational, functional, logical, temporal or physical.

3. Industry observers point out that vendors must become more “factory-oriented” if they are to meet the needs of integrated manufacturing. Many suppliers sprung from academia and therefore may not understand the harsh realities of the factory. After all groups have completed their tasks, there should be a cross-check of whether all the data are available for the defined processes and vice versa.

4. A principal corporate goal must be the development of clearly defined corporate objectives, including well-defined strategies for product sales, marketing, finance and manufacturing corporate strategies and functions must be integrated in support of the corporate objectives. The integration of different strategies and functions in a manufacturing enterprise is critical to its success.

5. Many technical disciplines from the purchasing company and from the system suppliers must work in tandem to prepare facilities and establish interfaces to other operations. Users receive training, start-up resources are arranged, and numerical control programs are built and developed. The transition from business-as-usual to state-of-the-art must be carefully carried on.