Manufacturing system engineering moderator: an aid for multidiscipline project teams

Manufacturing System Engineering is a complex process generally performed by a multidiscipline project team. The Manufacturing System must satisfy many different requirements and objectives so compromises generally have to be made to achieve a balanced design for the new or re-engineered Manufacturing System. Project team members must be aware when decisions are made that are significant to other team members. When teams are large and located in multiple sites, this can be very difficult to achieve, and intelligent support systems are necessary. The Manufacturing System Engineering Moderator is designed to monitor design decisions, to evaluate their significance to individual project team members and to communicate with any team members deemed necessary.