A Top-Down Approach to CIM (NOT PUBLISHED)

Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is necessary in today's factory environment for improving quality control, cutting costs and reducing inventories. CIM is an integrated solution to provide information flow from the assembly lines to the corporate planning center, from the engineering development areas to the factory floors, and from the storage places back to the assembly lines. CIM uses networking to establish communication between people and machines to provide effective management of products and better processes for manufacturing and distribution. This paper concentrates on the needed components of CIM and how to integrate the different components together as well as presenting a case study on the evolution of a manufacturing plant.