Peter Senker

Construction skills training for the next millennium.

Construction skills and training needs have changed with the introduction of new business processes, different forms of organizing production and technical innovation. In the UK, training provision has failed to adapt fully to the needs of a modernizing industry. Formal training programmes have been inappropriate in content and inadequate in quantity. Many of them are out of date. An assessment is provided of the types of skill and training required to implement innovative approaches for improving construction performance. It is based on analysis of work carried out during a major national review of construction operative and supervisory skills training in the UK undertaken for the Construction Industry Board. It seeks to provide a framework for analysing skill needs in the context of modern performance targets, together with policy recommendations for decision-makers in firms, government and training institutions. The conclusion that a new generic training programme is required is of general relevance to practitioners, trainers and researchers in the UK and in other countries.

Implications of CAD/CAM for management

For many firms, investment in computer-aided design is an important first step towards integrated systems of design and manufacture (Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacture--CAD/CAM). A recent study of CAD in the British engineering industry has indicated that few firms have yet fully recognised its strategic significance. Successful selection and implementation of CAD/CAM requires changes in investment appraisal procedures and demands higher levels of technical skills at senior levels than are normally found in British engineering firms.

International trends in construction technologies and the future of housebuilding

Abstract This article draws on international evidence on changing construction technologies against the background of future trends in UK housebuilding. There is evidence that housing construction in the UK is inadequate to meet social needs. Major changes in housing finance policy are probably needed to deal with this problem. It is suggested that shortages of traditional skills, together with needs to comply with stringent environmental regulations, may well lead to future housing programmes depending on extensive use of new technologies. Industrialized housing construction techniques have been used successfully in some countries, and the article adduces evidence from this experience. However, in the absence of adequate investment in R&D and training of construction workers, there is a grave danger that industrialized building could result in the construction of poor-quality, expensive-to-maintain housing, as it did in the UK in the 1960s. The utilization of new housing technologies needs to be evaluated in a broad context in order to determine the priorities for R&D, changes in production processes and training programmes.

The challenge of computer-integrated manufacturing

Abstract Recent years have seen major changes in the pattern of industrial production. Three forces have been particularly significant in driving industry along the road to advanced automated production; growing international competition, the example of Japan and the availability of new technology. Their combined effect is a trend towards advanced and integrated manufacturing systems. These changes require what are often radical adjustments in the philosophy of production management, away from traditional concerns with discrete operations and towards a total systems management approach. This paper examines some of the features of the challenge posed to production management by the technological changes embodied in the “factory of the future”.

Technical change, employment, and international competition

Abstract The prospects are gloomy for employment in most industrialised countries, but especially in the UK, given the continued attrition of the international competitiveness of British manufacturing industry. There are policies that would ameliorate the problem over the long term, but they would aggravate it in the short term and/or entail political objections. Many studies show that technical change (one source of job loss) is not handled well in Britain.

The Teaching Company Scheme: Transferring Technology and Expertise from Universities to Industry.

A key challenge for firms is to develop ways of identifying information which can add value to their business, and of disseminating and using such new knowledge effectively within their organization – this often involves changes in attitudes and company cultures. The UKs Teaching Company Scheme has proved a valuable facilitator in the effective application of new knowledge. In this article, the authors first describe the Scheme and its objectives and then review the results of a study undertaken to assess its effectiveness and to make suggestions for its improvement.

Some Economic and Ideological Aspects of the Reform of Education and Training in England and Wales in the Last Ten Years.

During the last ten years, British governments have claimed that their education and training policies have been largely motivated by the objective of serving the needs of the economy better. The paper suggests, however, that reforms have been guided to a greater extent by short‐term political expediency and in compliance with the Governments market forces ideology. The result is a very confused pattern of education and training provision. Present trends indicate that Britain is liable to suffer serious shortages of professional skills in the future. It is suggested that reform of A‐levels would form an essential ingredient in any coherent programme designed to help the education system serve the needs of the economy better.

Automation and Maintenance Training

SUMMARY The effective use of robots, FMS systems and other complex modern production equipment demands the deployment of multi-skilled maintenance people. Although this need has been well known for several years, several factors conspire to prevent sufficient appropriate maintenance training schemes being established. Such factors include demarcation problems, deficiencies in management industrial relations competence, and excessive reliance on ‘poaching’ trained people rather than on training. Reasons are adduced why reliance on equipment suppliers for maintenance is likely to prove insufficient.

The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative and economic performance in the United Kingdom: an initial assessment

Government support for the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) is based largely on the belief that it will contribute to the improvement of the UKs economic performance. This paper reviews evidence on the relationship between education and training, workforce skills and economic performance, and concludes that it would be helpful if TVEIs objectives were to be expressed in more detail, so as to provide a better basis for evaluation.

The Management of Microprocessor Technology in the Engineering Industry

Three important problems face managers in coming to terms with the advent of microprocessors. Microprocessors offer radical new possibilities for designing products and systems but the latter need to be conceptualised as wholes rather than seen as series of discreet but interconnected sub‐systems. The second difficulty lies in evaluating and choosing a CAD system in that confining the evaluation to the implications for the drawing office can result in failure to consider factors vital to the companys future. The third problem lies in the implications of automation for production. The benefits spill out beyond the boundaries of the department in which a particular piece of capital equipment is installed, emphasising the need for a strategic approach.