Master of Science in Manufacturing Systems Management

Core Courses

Degree candidates are required to take the following six courses for a total of 18 semester hours:

ME 5-7351 Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems

Basic concepts and use of computer integrated manufacturing. Topics include integration approaches for manufacturing, process planning and simulation, the production process in relation to automated control systems, process design for shop poor control of multiple interacting processes, distributed network process control, real-time aspects, interface protocols and languages of production processes, computational and data processing methods for planning, design, production, and shipping, and methods of optimizing output quality, price and productivity. Economic justification and the use of artificial intelligence for planning and process control will be examined.

ME 5-7352 Modern Manufacturing Methods and Systems

Highly successful manufacturing methods and systems will be examined. Topics include the evolution of manufacturing technology in the United States, mass manufacturing, integrated manufacturing, distribution and manufacturing automation, just-in-time systems, continuous improvement, Kaizen, poka yoke and total quality management. Modern Japanese manufacturing techniques will be examined in depth. The underlying concepts and strategic benefits of flexibility, agility, time-based competition, and global manufacturing operation will be covered. The course will be presented from the perspective of the manufacturing manager

ME 5-7353 Manufacturing Management Practices

New organizational structures, paradigms and leadership styles. Problem solving within the business context: manufacturing strategies for optimizing production processes across the enterprise. Measuring and reporting business performance. Investment decision making under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Intellectual property strategies, products liability and the legal environment. Contemporary practices, including self-directed work forces, competitive assessment, total productive maintenance, managerial and activity-based costing, and other topics.

ME 5-7354 Total Quality Management in Manufacturing

An overall total quality management perspective for the design of quality management systems. Metrics for cycle time and defects, baselining and benchmarking, and House of Quality approaches are examined. Managing product quality from inception to deployment. Topics include acquiring and stabilizing new production processes, data collection and analysis for improvement and decision making. Purchasing, process control, reliability are covered in detail. Taguchi and poka-yoke and other practices are examined as tools for implementing TQM.

ME 5-7355 Integrated Design and Manufacturing

Industrial performance is strongly correlated to success in integrating design and manufacturing. The interrelationships between the total product realization cycle, product generation, and manufacturing are examined with the objective of improving industrial performance.

ME 5-7391 Financial Decisions for Manufacturing & Engineering

An introduction into the financial decision making processes involving manufacturing and technological operations. Topics include the firm’s internal financial decisions (cost accounting, pricing of finished goods, capital decisions) and the firm’s external financial positioning (capital acquisition and funding, acquisition analysis and valuations). The preliminary focus of the course will be to expose the engineering manager to basic financial decision making tools (time value of money, internal rate of return, buy vs lease decision) and financial reporting mechanisms (balance sheet, income statement, cash flows, ratio analysis). Using this information as a base, the course will introduce cost accounting and production pricing concepts, and valuations. Also, the course will introduce capital markets concepts such as asset/liability matching, capital sources and entity structure. Finally, the course will introduce the interaction of the capital markets to the firm and strategies including mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings.

Manufacturing Systems Management Electives

ME 5-7356 Human Factors in Design and Manufacturing

A senior-graduate course that deals with human factors or ergonomics relating to designing for human use. The lectures cover the empirical and analytical aspects of design and manufacturing as affected by the need to accommodate human use and abilities. Included are topics on visual displays of static and dynamic information; text, graphics symbols codes; auditory, tactual, and olfactory displays; speech and nonverbal communications; physical work-materials handling; motor skills; hand-tool devices and controls. The workplace design, anthropometry, component arrangement in space, lighting, sound climate, and motion will also be covered.

ME 5-7365 Strategies for Manufacturing Firms

Examines the development and implementation of strategies for product design and manufacturing that best supports the overall strategy of the firm. Topics include positioning the product and production system in the industry, location and capacity decision, implementing manufacturing technologies, facilities planning, vertical integration, logistics planning, and organizational culture. Case studies of manufacturing firms are used extensively.

ME 5-7366 Manufacturing in a Global Era

This course examines goals and strategies for manufacturing operations in the multinational environment. Topics include decision making for decentralizing and setting up foreign manufacturing operations, marketing, sales and distribution strategies, R&D support, location and capacity decisions, implementing new manufacturing technologies, facilities planning and modernizations, vertical integration, outsourcing strategies, logistics planning and organizational cultures. Case studies of manufacturing firms are used.

ME 7368 Project and Risk Management

Focuses on specific concepts, techniques and tools for managing projects successfully. Network planning techniques, resource allocation, models for multi-project scheduling, methods of controlling costs, determining schedules and performance parameters. The basics of risk management including hard analysis, risk analysis, risk control, and risk financing are covered. The focus of the course is to integrate risk assessment with managerial decision making. Examples and case studies.

ME 7369 Managing Technology and Innovation

In the face of rapid technological growth and innovation, a disciplined management approach is necessary to assure a reasonable expectation of success. The course examines the factors of proper selection, justification, and implementation of new technologies within the framework of consumer electronics, advanced materials, and emerging information capabilities, expert systems and machine tool industry. Topics include technological forecasting risk and uncertainty, and project management.

ME 5-7363 Electronic Manufacturing Technology

Topics include an introduction to the electronics industry, electronic components, the theory and methods of manufacture of solid state devices, packaging techniques such as wire bonding flip chip and TAB, printed wiring board, soldering and solderability, leaded and surface mounted components, electro-magnetic interference, electrostatic discharge prevention, testability and electronic stress screening.