5.3 Laning Ergonomics by Doing Job Analysis.docVIP

5.3 Leaning Ergonomics by Doing Job Analysis Introduction Manufacturing by its vary nature is a broad multi-disciplinary field requiring general knowledge of the entire enterprise including the design, production, and delivery of finished products. The manufacturing engineer requires knowledge from the diverse fields of robotics, materials, CAD/CAM, communication systems, budgeting, management, continuous quality improvement, and training the workforce. Integrating this knowledge is a formidable task requiring a balance of technical depth with a broad understanding of the problems facing industry. Equally important is an understanding of the collaborative team-oriented approach of real-world problem solving. Today, it is nearly impossible to provide a student with the required breadth of experience required while including time for in-depth study of any emerging issues. Often decisions have to be made to limit the classroom time spent studying any particular topic. As a result, little time is left for students to connect what they hear in the classroom with the real manufacturing world. What is needed is a new instructional medium which allows the students to interact with real world manufacturing issues in an off-line, out of class manner without the presence of an instructor. Additionally, changing pressures in society continually present new issues which should be dealt with during the educational experience. Examples of such issues include manufacturing ethics, environmentally friendly production processes, interactive consumer technologies and their effect on production, team building, rapid prototype design, self-directed work groups, and the life-long training of the workforce to name a few. Current curriculum constraints simply do not permit all of these topics to be covered in the traditional classroom; yet, many of these exact topics have been identified as issues crucial to the future success of American manufacturing. Recently McDermott summed up many of