Automation, Production Systems, and

Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 5e
Mikell P. Groover
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Contents

Preface xi

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Production Systems 2
1.2 Automation in Production Systems 6
1.3 Manual Labor in Production Systems 11
1.4 Automation Principles and Strategies 13
1.5 About This Book 18

PART I: OVERVIEW OF MANUFACTURING 21

Chapter 2 MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS 21
2.1 Manufacturing Industries and Products 25
2.2 Manufacturing Operations 28
2.3 Production Facilities 32
2.4 Product/Production Relationships 37

Chapter 3 MANUFACTURING METRICS AND ECONOMICS 46

3.1 Production Performance Metrics 47
3.2 Manufacturing Costs 62

PART II: AUTOMATION AND CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES 77

Chapter 4 INTRODUCTION TO AUTOMATION 77
4.1 Basic Elements of an Automated System 80
4.2 Advanced Automation Functions 88
4.3 Levels of Automation 93
4.4 Automation and Artificial Intelligence 95

Chapter 5 INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS 101

5.1 Process Industries versus Discrete Manufacturing Industries 102
5.2 Continuous versus Discrete Control 104
5.3 Computer Process Control 110

v
vi Contents

Chapter 6 HARDWARE COMPONENTS FOR AUTOMATION AND PROCESS CONTROL 127

6.1 Sensors 128
6.2 Actuators 132
6.3 Analog–Digital Conversions 145
6.4 Input/Output Devices for Discrete Data 151

Chapter 7 COMPUTER NUMERICAL CONTROL 157

7.1 Fundamentals of NC Technology 160
7.2 Computers and Numerical Control 166
7.3 Applications of NC 171
7.4 Analysis of Positioning Systems 178
7.5 NC Part Programming 186
7.6 CNC Trends and Developments 197
APPENDIX 7A: Coding for Manual Part Programming 205

CHAPTER 8 INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS 214

8.1 Robot Anatomy and Related Attributes 216
8.2 Robot Control Systems 224
8.3 End Effectors 226
8.4 Applications of Industrial Robots 227
8.5 Economic Justification of Industrial Robots 234
8.6 Robot Programming 237
8.7 Robot Accuracy and Repeatability 244

Chapter 9 DISCRETE CONTROL AND PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLERS 253

9.1 Discrete Process Control 253
9.2 Ladder Logic Diagrams 261
9.3 Programmable Logic Controllers 265
9.4 Personal Computers and Programmable Automation Controllers 272

PART III: MATERIAL HANDLING AND IDENTIFICATION 279

Chapter 10 MATERIAL TRANSPORT SYSTEMS 279
10.1 Overview of Material Handling 280
10.2 Material Transport Equipment 285
10.3 Analysis of Material Transport Systems 301

Chapter 11 STORAGE SYSTEMS 318

11.1 Overview of Storage Systems 319
11.2 Conventional Storage Methods and Equipment 321
11.3 Automated Storage Systems 324
11.4 Analysis of Storage Systems 332

Chapter 12 AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION AND DATA CAPTURE 343

12.1 Overview of Automatic Identification Methods 344
12.2 Bar Code Technology 346
Contents vii

12.3 Radio Frequency Identification 352

12.4 Other AIDC Technologies 355

PART IV: MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS 357

Chapter 13 OVERVIEW OF MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS 357
13.1 Components of a Manufacturing System 358
13.2 Types of Manufacturing Systems 363

Chapter 14 SINGLE-STATION MANUFACTURING CELLS 370

14.1 Single-Station Manned Cells 371
14.2 Single-Station Automated Cells 372
14.3 Applications of Single-Station Cells 383
14.4 Analysis of Single-Station Cells 385

Chapter 15 MULTI-STATION MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS: MANUAL ASSEMBLY LINES 396

15.1 Fundamentals of Manual Assembly Lines 398
15.2 Analysis of Single-Model Assembly Lines 404
15.3 Line Balancing Algorithms 411
15.4 Workstation Details 417
15.5 Other Considerations in Assembly Line Design 419
15.6 Alternative Assembly Systems 422
APPENDIX 15A: Batch-Model and Mixed-Model Lines 432

Chapter 16 MULTI-STATION MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS: AUTOMATED PRODUCTION LINES 447

16.1 Fundamentals of Automated Production Lines 448
16.2 Applications of Automated Production Lines 457
16.3 Analysis of Transfer Lines 460
APPENDIX 16A: Transfer Lines with Internal Storage 470

Chapter 17 AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS 479

17.1 Fundamentals of Automated Assembly Systems 480
17.2 Analysis of Automated Assembly Systems 486

Chapter 18 GROUP TECHNOLOGY AND CELLULAR MANUFACTURING 504

18.1 Part Families and Machine Groups 506
18.2 Cellular Manufacturing 513
18.3 Applications of Group Technology 518
18.4 Analysis of Cellular Manufacturing 520
APPENDIX 18A: Opitz Parts Classification and Coding System 531

Chapter 19 MULTI-STATION MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS: AUTOMATED FOR FLEXIBILITY 534

19.1 Manufacturing Flexibility Defined 536
19.2 Components of an FMS 541
19.3 Analysis of Flexible Manufacturing Systems 547
19.4 Alternative Approaches to Flexible Manufacturing 564
viii Contents

PART V: QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEMS 577

Chapter 20 QUALITY PROGRAMS FOR MANUFACTURING 577
20.1 Quality in Design and Manufacturing 578
20.2 Traditional and Modern Quality Control 579
20.3 Process Variability and Process Capability 582
20.4 Statistical Process Control 585
20.5 Six Sigma 598
20.6 Taguchi Methods in Quality Engineering 602
20.7 ISO 9000 607
APPENDIX 20A: The Six Sigma DMAIC Procedure 614

Chapter 21 INSPECTION PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES 620

21.1 Inspection Fundamentals 621
21.2 Sampling versus 100% Inspection 626
21.3 Automated Inspection 630
21.4 When and Where to Inspect 632
21.5 Analysis of Inspection Systems 636

Chapter 22 INSPECTION TECHNOLOGIES 649

22.1 Inspection Metrology 650
22.2 Conventional Measuring and Gaging Techniques 655
22.3 Coordinate Measuring Machines 655
22.4 Surface Measurement 668
22.5 Machine Vision 670
22.6 Other Optical Inspection Methods 678
22.7 Noncontact Nonoptical Inspection Techniques 681
APPENDIX 22A: Geometric Feature Construction 686

PART VI: MANUFACTURING SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND

COMPUTER-INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING 689
Chapter 23 PRODUCT DESIGN AND CAD/CAM IN THE PRODUCTION SYSTEM 689
23.1 Product Design and CAD 690
23.2 CAM, CAD/CAM, and CIM 697

CHAPTER 24 PROCESS PLANNING AND CONCURRENT ENGINEERING 703

24.1 Process Planning 704
24.2 Computer-Aided Process Planning 709
24.3 Concurrent Engineering and Design for Manufacturing 712
24.4 Advanced Manufacturing Planning 716

Chapter 25 PRODUCTION PLANNING AND CONTROL SYSTEMS 721

25.1 Aggregate Production Planning and the Master Production Schedule 723
25.2 Material Requirements Planning 725
Contents ix

25.3 Capacity Planning 731

25.4 Shop Floor Control 733
25.5 Inventory Control 739
25.6 Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) 744
25.7 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 745

Chapter 26 JUST-IN-TIME AND LEAN PRODUCTION 751

26.1 Lean Production and Waste in Manufacturing 752
26.2 Just-In-Time Production Systems 756
26.3 Autonomation 763
26.4 Worker Involvement 768

Appendix: Answers to Selected Problems 778

Index784
Preface

This book has a history. It was originally published in 1980 as Automation, Production
Systems, and Computer-Aided Manufacturing. Topics included automated flow lines, as-
sembly line balancing, numerical control, CAD/CAM, control theory, process control,
production planning, group technology, and flexible manufacturing systems. A revised
edition was published in 1986 with a change in title to Automation, Production Systems,
and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing. Additional topics included industrial robot-
ics, programmable logic controllers, automated assembly systems, material handling and
storage, automatic identification techniques, shop floor control, and the future automated
factory. The second edition of the new title was released in 2000 with a 2001 copyright.
Many of the topics remained the same as in the 1986 edition, but much of the material on
control theory was eliminated. The book was reorganized substantially, and most of the
chapters were rewritten to bring the technical subject matter up to date. The third edition
was released in 2007 with a 2008 copyright. It contained expanded coverage of new and
emerging technologies (e.g., radio frequency identification, Six Sigma, lean production,
enterprise resource planning).
The fourth edition was released in 2014 with a 2015 copyright. It included revised
coverage of manufacturing metrics, hardware components for automation, industrial ro-
botics, and CAD/CAM, reduced coverage of APT part programming and expanded cov-
erage of CAD/CAM part programming, new sections on manufacturing resource plan-
ning (MRP II) and enterprise resource planning (ERP), 36 new or revised figures, new
and/or revised end-of-chapter problems, and a new appendix listing answers to selected
end-of-chapter problems.
The basic objective of this new edition remains the same as in the previous edi-
tions: to provide up-to-date coverage of production systems, how they are sometimes
automated and computerized, and how they can be mathematically analyzed to obtain
performance metrics. The textbook is designed primarily for engineering students at
the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate levels in industrial, mechanical, and
manufacturing engineering. It has all the features of an engineering textbook: equations,
­example problems, diagrams, quantitative end-of-chapter exercises, and technical de-
scriptions that seem designed to baffle college students. The book should also be useful
for practicing engineers and managers who wish to learn about automation and produc-
tion systems technologies in modern manufacturing.

xi
xii Preface

NEW TO THIS EDITION

In this fifth edition of the current title (sixth edition of the original 1980 book), I have
consolidated and reorganized many of the topics and eliminated material that I felt is no
longer relevant. Among the new topics and other changes in the book are those listed
below.

• In Chapter 3 (Manufacturing Metrics and Economics), much of the discussion on

Productive Performance Metrics has been revised and based on the bottleneck
model developed by James Solberg.
• In Chapter 4 (Introduction to Automation), a new section on Automation and
Artificial Intelligence has been added.
• In Chapter 6 (Hardware Components for Automation and Process Control), new
line drawings and example problems have been added.
• In Chapter 7 (Computer Numerical Control), a new section on CNC Trends and
Developments has been added.
• In Chapter 8 (Industrial Robotics), a new section on Collaborative Robots has been
added.
• In Chapter 13 (Overview of Manufacturing Systems), the discussion of
Manufacturing Flexibility has been revised.
• In Chapter 14 (Single-Station Manufacturing Cells), the coverage of CNC Machining
Centers and Related Machine Tools has been significantly revised and expanded.
Several new line drawings have been added.
• In Chapter 16 (Multi-Station Manufacturing Systems: Automated Production
Lines), a new line drawing of a transfer line replaces a previous figure.
• In Chapter 18 (Group Technology and Cellular Manufacturing), the section on per-
formance metrics has been eliminated.
• In Chapter 19 (Multi-Station Manufacturing Systems: Automated for Flexibility),
the discussion and analysis have been completely revised to reflect changes in FMS
technology that have occurred.
• In Chapter 22 (Inspection Technologies), the section on surface measurement has
been thoroughly revised to include area surface measurements in addition to stylus
type measurements. The discussion of portable CMMs also has been revised.
• In Chapter 25 (Production Planning and Control Systems), the section on factory
data collection has been updated.
• More than 40% of the end-of-chapter problems are revised.

SUPPORT MATERIALS FOR INSTRUCTORS

For instructors who adopt the book for their courses, the following support materials
are available at the Pearson website, www.pearson.com/engineering-resources. Evidence
that the book has been adopted as the main textbook for the course must be verified.

• A Solutions Manual covering all review questions and problems

• A complete set of PowerPoint slides for all chapters
Preface xiii

Individual questions or comments may be directed to the author at Mikell.Groover@

Lehigh.edu or mpg0@Lehigh.edu.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A number of changes in the fourth and fifth editions of the book were motivated by
responses to a survey that was conducted by the publisher. Some very worthwhile sug-
gestions were offered by the reviewers, and I attempted to incorporate them into the
text where appropriate and feasible. In any case, I appreciate the thoughtful efforts that
they contributed to the project, and I am sure that the book is better as a result of their
efforts than it otherwise would have been. I would like to acknowledge their participa-
tion in the survey: T. S. Bukkapatnam, Oklahoma State University; Joseph Domblesky,
Marquette University; Brent Donham, Texas A&M University; John Jackman, Iowa
State University; Matthew Kuttolamadom, Texas A&M University; Frank Peters, Iowa
State University; and Tony Schmitz, University of North Carolina-Charlotte. I also want
to acknowledge the advice of Kurt Lesker IV, former student and currently president of
his family’s business, which was started by his great grandfather, Kurt Lesker I.
I also acknowledge the following individuals at Pearson Education Inc. for their
support during this project: Holly Stark, Executive Editor; and Carole Snyder, Content
Producer. In addition, I am grateful for the fine job done by Preethi Sundar at Pearson
CSC who served as Project Manager for the project. She and the copy editors working
with her were thorough and meticulous in their review of the manuscript (I take back
all of the bad things I ever said about copy editors throughout the nearly 40 years I
have been writing textbooks).
Also, I am in gratitude to all of the faculty who have adopted the previous edi-
tions of the book for their courses, thus making those projects commercially successful
for Pearson Education Inc., so that I would be allowed to prepare this new edition.
Finally, I wish to thank Marcia Hamm Groover, my wife, my PowerPoint slide ex-
pert, my computer specialist (I write books about computer-related technologies, but she
is the one who fixes my computer when it has problems), and my supporter on this and
other textbook projects.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mikell P. Groover is Professor Emeritus of Industrial and Systems Engineering at

Lehigh University, where he taught and did research for 44 years. He received his B.A.
in Arts and Science (1961), B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (1962), M.S. in Industrial
Engineering (1966), and Ph.D. (1969), all from Lehigh. His industrial experience includes
several years as a manufacturing engineer before embarking on graduate studies.
His teaching and research areas include manufacturing processes, production sys-
tems, automation, material handling, facilities planning, and work systems. He has re-
ceived a number of teaching awards at Lehigh University, as well as the Albert G.
Holzman Outstanding Educator Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers (1995)
and the SME Education Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (2001).
His publications include over 85 technical articles and books (listed below). His books
are used throughout the world and have been translated into French, German, Spanish,
Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. The first edition of Fundamentals
xiv Preface

of Modern Manufacturing received the IIE Joint Publishers Award (1996) and the
M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Textbook Award from the Society of Manufacturing
Engineers (1996).
Dr. Groover is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and the
Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). He is a Fellow of IIE and SME.

PREVIOUS BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Aided Manufacturing, Prentice Hall, 1980.

CAD/CAM: Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing, Prentice Hall, 1984 (co-authored
with E. W. Zimmers, Jr.).
Industrial Robotics: Technology, Programming, and Applications, McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1986 (co-authored with M. Weiss, R. Nagel, and N. Odrey).
Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Prentice Hall,
1987.
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Systems, originally pub-
lished by Prentice Hall in 1996, and subsequently published by John Wiley & Sons,
Inc., 1999.
Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Second Edition,
Prentice Hall, 2001.
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Systems, Second Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Systems, Third Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007.
Work Systems and the Methods, Measurement, and Management of Work, Pearson Prentice
Hall, 2007.
Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Third Edition,
Pearson Education, Inc, 2008.
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Systems, Fourth ­Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010.
Introduction to Manufacturing Processes, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012.
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Systems, Fifth Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013.
Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Fourth Edi-
tion, Pearson Education, Inc, 2015.
Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Systems, Sixth Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2016.
 Chapter 1

Introduction

CHAPTER CONTENTS
1.1 Production Systems
1.1.1 Facilities
1.1.2 Manufacturing Support Systems
1.2 Automation in Production Systems
1.2.1 Automated Manufacturing Systems
1.2.2 Computerized Manufacturing Support Systems
1.2.3 Reasons for Automating
1.3 Manual Labor in Production Systems
1.3.1 Manual Labor in Factory Operations
1.3.2 Labor in Manufacturing Support Systems
1.4 Automation Principles and Strategies
1.4.1 The USA Principle
1.4.2 Ten Strategies for Automation and Process Improvement
1.4.3 Automation Migration Strategy
1.5 About This Book

The word manufacturing derives from two Latin words, manus (hand) and factus (make),
so that the combination means made by hand. This was the way manufacturing was accom-
plished when the word first appeared in the English language around 1567. Commercial
goods of those times were made by hand. The methods were handicraft, accomplished
in small shops, and the goods were relatively simple, at least by today’s standards. As
many years passed, factories came into being, with many workers at a single site, and the
work had to be organized using machines rather than handicraft techniques. The products

1
2 Chap. 1 / Introduction

became more complex, and so did the processes to make them. Workers had to special-
ize in their tasks. Rather than overseeing the fabrication of the entire product, they were
responsible for only a small part of the total work. More up-front planning was required,
and more coordination of the operations was needed to keep track of the work flow in the
factories. Slowly but surely, the systems of production were being developed.
The systems of production are essential in modern manufacturing. This book is all
about these production systems and how they are sometimes automated and computerized.

1.1 PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

A production system is a collection of people, equipment, and procedures organized to

perform the manufacturing operations of a company. It consists of two major components
as indicated in Figure 1.1:

1. Facilities. The physical facilities of the production system include the equipment, the
way the equipment is laid out, and the factory in which the equipment is located.
2. Manufacturing support systems. These are the procedures used by the company to
manage production and to solve the technical and logistics problems encountered in
ordering materials, moving the work through the factory, and ensuring that products
meet quality standards. Product design and certain business functions are included
in the manufacturing support systems.

In modern manufacturing operations, portions of the production system are

a­ utomated and/or computerized. In addition, production systems include people. Peo-
ple make these systems work. In general, direct labor people (blue-collar workers) are

Manufacturing
systems
Facilities
Factory and
plant layout

Production
system Product design

Manufacturing
planning
Manufacturing
support systems
Manufacturing
control

Business
functions

Figure 1.1 The production system consists of

facilities and manufacturing support systems.
Sec. 1.1 / Production Systems 3

responsible for operating the facilities, and professional staff people (white-collar ­workers)
are responsible for the manufacturing support systems.

1.1.1 Facilities

The facilities in the production system consist of the factory, production machines and
tooling, material handling equipment, inspection equipment, and computer systems that
control the manufacturing operations. Facilities also include the plant layout, which is the
way the equipment is physically arranged in the factory. The equipment is usually orga-
nized into manufacturing systems, which are the logical groupings of equipment and work-
ers that accomplish the processing and assembly operations on parts and products made
by the factory. Manufacturing systems can be individual work cells consisting of a single
production machine and a worker assigned to that machine. More complex manufacturing
systems consist of collections of machines and workers, for example, a production line. The
manufacturing systems come in direct physical contact with the parts and/or assemblies
being made. They “touch” the product.
In terms of human participation in the processes performed by the manufacturing
systems, three basic categories can be distinguished, as portrayed in Figure 1.2: (a) manual
work systems, (b) worker-machine systems, and (c) automated systems.

Manual Work Systems. A manual work system consists of one or more workers
performing one or more tasks without the aid of powered tools. Manual material handling
tasks are common activities in manual work systems. Production tasks commonly require the
use of hand tools, such as screwdrivers and hammers. When using hand tools, a workholder
is often employed to grasp the work part and position it securely for processing. Examples
of production-related manual tasks involving the use of hand tools include the following:

• A machinist using a file to round the edges of a rectangular part that has just been
milled
• A quality control inspector using a micrometer to measure the diameter of a shaft
• A material handling worker using a dolly to move cartons in a warehouse
• A team of assembly workers putting together a piece of machinery using hand tools.

Worker-Machine Systems. In a worker-machine system, a human worker oper-

ates powered equipment, such as a machine tool or other production machine. This is
one of the most widely used manufacturing systems. Worker-machine systems include

Periodic worker
Hand tools Machine attention

Worker Worker Automated machine

Process Process Process

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.2 Three categories of manufacturing systems: (a) manual work

system, (b) worker-machine system, and (c) fully automated system.
4 Chap. 1 / Introduction

combinations of one or more workers and one or more pieces of equipment. The workers
and machines are combined to take advantage of their relative strengths and attributes,
which are listed in Table 1.1. Examples of worker-machine systems include the following:

• A machinist operating an engine lathe to fabricate a part for a product

• A fitter and an industrial robot working together in an arc–welding work cell
• A crew of workers operating a rolling mill that converts hot steel slabs into flat plates
• A production line in which the products are moved by mechanized conveyor and
the workers at some of the stations use power tools to accomplish their processing
or assembly tasks.

Automated Systems. An automated system is one in which a process is performed

by a machine without the direct participation of a human worker. Automation is imple-
mented using a program of instructions combined with a control system that e­ xecutes the
instructions. Power is required to drive the process and to operate the program and control
system (these terms are defined more completely in Chapter 4).
There is not always a clear distinction between worker-machine systems and
­automated systems, because many worker-machine systems operate with some degree
of automation. Two levels of automation can be identified: semiautomated and fully
­automated. A semiautomated machine performs a portion of the work cycle under some
form of program control, and a human worker tends to the machine for the remainder
of the cycle, by loading and unloading it, or by performing some other task each cycle.
A fully automated machine is distinguished from its semiautomated counterpart by its
capacity to operate for an extended period of time with no human attention. Extended
period of time means longer than one work cycle; a worker is not required to be present
during each cycle. Instead, the worker may need to tend the machine every tenth cycle,
or every hundredth cycle. An example of this type of operation is found in many injection
molding plants, where the molding machines run on automatic cycles, but periodically the
molded parts at the machine must be collected by a worker. Figure 1.2(c) depicts a fully
automated system. The semiautomated system is best portrayed by Figure 1.2(b).
In certain fully automated processes, one or more workers are required to be present
to continuously monitor the operation, and make sure that it performs according to the
intended specifications. Examples of these kinds of automated processes include complex
chemical processes, oil refineries, and nuclear power plants. The workers do not actively

TABLE 1.1 Relative Strengths and Attributes of Humans and Machines

Humans Machines
Sense unexpected stimuli Perform repetitive tasks consistently
Develop new solutions to problems Store large amounts of data
Cope with abstract problems Retrieve data from memory reliably
Adapt to change Perform multiple tasks
Generalize from observations simultaneously
Learn from experience Apply high forces and power
Make decisions based on Perform simple computations
incomplete data quickly
Make routine decisions quickly
Sec. 1.1 / Production Systems 5

participate in the process except to make occasional adjustments in the equipment settings,
perform periodic maintenance, and spring into action if something goes wrong.

1.1.2 Manufacturing Support Systems

To operate the production facilities efficiently, a company must organize itself to design
the processes and equipment, plan and control the production orders, and satisfy prod-
uct quality requirements. These functions are accomplished by manufacturing support
­systems—people and procedures by which a company manages its production operations.
Most of these support systems do not directly contact the product, but they plan and
­control its progress through the factory.
Manufacturing support involves a sequence of activities, as depicted in Figure 1.3.
The activities consist of four functions that include much information flow and data pro-
cessing: (1) business functions, (2) product design, (3) manufacturing planning, and (4)
manufacturing control.

Business Functions. The business functions are the principal means by which the
company communicates with the customer. They are, therefore, the beginning and the end
of the information-processing sequence. Included in this category are sales and marketing,
sales forecasting, order entry, and customer billing.
The order to produce a product typically originates from the customer and proceeds
into the company through the sales department of the firm. The production order will
be in one of the following forms: (1) an order to manufacture an item to the customer’s
specifications, (2) a customer order to buy one or more of the manufacturer’s proprietary
products, or (3) an internal company order based on a forecast of future demand for a
proprietary product.

Product Design. If the product is manufactured to customer design, the design has
been provided by the customer, and the manufacturer’s product design department is not
involved. If the product is to be produced to customer specifications, the manufacturer’s
product design department may be contracted to do the design work for the product as
well as to manufacture it.
If the product is proprietary, the manufacturing firm is responsible for its develop-
ment and design. The sequence of events that initiates a new product design often origi-
nates in the sales department; the direction of information flow is indicated in Figure 1.3.
The departments of the firm that are organized to accomplish product design might
include research and development, design engineering, and perhaps a prototype shop.

Order to Business Manufacturing Manufacturing

Product design
produce functions planning control

Product to
Starting materials Factory operations
customer

Figure 1.3 Sequence of information-processing activities in a typical

­manufacturing firm.
6 Chap. 1 / Introduction

Manufacturing Planning. The information and documentation that constitute

the product design flows into the manufacturing planning function. The information-­
processing activities in manufacturing planning include process planning, master schedul-
ing, material requirements planning, and capacity planning.
Process planning consists of determining the sequence of individual processing
and assembly operations needed to produce the part. The manufacturing engineering
department is responsible for planning the processes and related technical details such as
­tooling. Manufacturing planning includes logistics issues, commonly known as production
­planning. The authorization to produce the product must be translated into the master
production schedule, which is a listing of the products to be made, the dates on which
they are to be delivered, and the quantities of each. Based on this master schedule, the
individual components and subassemblies that make up each product must be scheduled.
Raw materials must be purchased or requisitioned from storage, parts must be ordered
from suppliers, and all of these items must be planned so they are available when needed.
The computations for this planning are made by material requirements planning.
In a­ ddition, the master schedule must not list more quantities of products than the factory
is capable of producing each month with its given number of machines and manpower.
Capacity ­planning is concerned with determining the human and equipment resources
of the firm and checking to make sure that the production plan is feasible.

Manufacturing Control. Manufacturing control is concerned with managing and

controlling the physical operations in the factory to implement the manufacturing plans.
The flow of information is from planning to control as indicated in Figure 1.3. Informa-
tion also flows back and forth between manufacturing control and the factory operations.
Included in this function are shop floor control, inventory control, and quality control.
Shop floor control deals with the problem of monitoring the progress of the product
as it is being processed, assembled, moved, and inspected in the factory. Shop floor control
is concerned with inventory in the sense that the materials being processed in the factory
are work-in-process inventory. Thus, shop floor control and inventory control overlap to
some extent. Inventory control attempts to strike a proper balance between the risk of too
little inventory (with possible stock-outs of materials) and the carrying cost of too much
inventory. It deals with such issues as deciding the right quantities of materials to order
and when to reorder a given item when stock is low. The function of quality control is to
ensure that the quality of the product and its components meet the standards specified
by the product designer. To accomplish its mission, quality control depends on inspec-
tion activities performed in the factory at various times during the manufacture of the
product. Also, raw materials and component parts from outside sources are sometimes
inspected when they are received, and final inspection and testing of the finished product
is performed to ensure functional quality and appearance. Quality control also includes
data collection and problem-solving approaches to address process problems related to
quality, such as statistical process control (SPC) and Six Sigma.

1.2 AUTOMATION IN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Some components of the firm’s production system are likely to be automated, whereas
others will be operated manually or clerically. The automated elements of the produc-
tion system can be separated into two categories: (1) automation of the manufacturing
Sec. 1.2 / Automation in Production Systems 7

Manufacturing
Automation
systems
Facilities
Factory and
plant layout

Production
system Product design

Manufacturing
Computerization
planning
Manufacturing
support systems
Manufacturing
control

Business
functions

Figure 1.4 Opportunities for automation and computerization

in a production system.

systems in the factory, and (2) computerization of the manufacturing support systems.
In ­modern production systems, the two categories are closely related, because the auto-
mated manufacturing systems on the factory floor are themselves usually implemented
by computer systems that are integrated with the manufacturing support systems and
­management information system operating at the plant and enterprise levels. The two
categories of automation are shown in Figure 1.4 as an overlay on Figure 1.1.

1.2.1 Automated Manufacturing Systems

Automated manufacturing systems operate in the factory on the physical product.

They perform operations such as processing, assembly, inspection, and material han-
dling, in many cases accomplishing more than one of these operations in the same system.
They are called automated because they perform their operations with a reduced level
of human participation compared with the corresponding manual process. In some
highly automated systems, there is virtually no human participation. Examples of auto-
mated manufacturing systems include the following:

• Automated machine tools that process parts

• Transfer lines that perform a series of machining operations
• Automated assembly systems
• Manufacturing systems that use industrial robots to perform processing or assembly
operations
• Automatic material handling and storage systems to integrate manufacturing
operations
• Automatic inspection systems for quality control
8 Chap. 1 / Introduction

Product variety
Programmable
automation
Flexible
automation

Fixed
automation

1 100 10,000 1,000,000

Production quantity

Figure 1.5 Three types of automation relative

to production quantity and product variety.

Automated manufacturing systems can be classified into three basic types: (1) fixed
automation, (2) programmable automation, and (3) flexible automation. They generally
operate as fully automated systems although semiautomated systems are common in
programmable automation. The relative positions of the three types of automation for
different production volumes and product varieties are depicted in Figure 1.5.

Fixed Automation. Fixed automation is a system in which the sequence of process-

ing (or assembly) operations is fixed by the equipment configuration. Each operation in
the sequence is usually simple, involving perhaps a plain linear or rotational motion or an
uncomplicated combination of the two, such as feeding a rotating spindle. It is the inte-
gration and coordination of many such operations in one piece of equipment that makes
the system complex. Typical features of fixed automation are (1) high initial investment
for custom-engineered equipment, (2) high production rates, and (3) inflexibility of the
equipment to accommodate product variety.
The economic justification for fixed automation is found in products that are made
in very large quantities and at high production rates. The high initial cost of the e­ quipment
can be spread over a very large number of units, thus minimizing the unit cost relative
to alternative methods of production. Examples of fixed automation include machining
transfer lines and automated assembly machines.

Programmable Automation. In programmable automation, the production equip-

ment is designed with the capability to change the sequence of operations to accommo-
date different part or product configurations. The operation sequence is controlled by a
program, which is a set of instructions coded so that they can be read and interpreted by
the system. New programs can be prepared and entered into the equipment to produce
new parts or products. Some of the features that characterize programmable automation
include (1) high investment in general-purpose equipment, (2) lower production rates than
fixed automation, (3) flexibility to deal with variations and changes in product configura-
tion, and (4) high suitability for batch production.
Sec. 1.2 / Automation in Production Systems 9

Programmable automated systems are used in low- and medium-volume produc-

tion. The parts or products are typically made in batches. To produce each new batch of
a different item, the system must be reprogrammed with the set of machine instructions
that correspond to the new item. The physical setup of the machine must also be changed:
Tools must be loaded, fixtures must be attached to the machine table, and any required
machine settings must be entered. This changeover takes time. Consequently, the typical
cycle for a given batch includes a period during which the setup and reprogramming take
place, followed by a period in which the parts are produced. Examples of programmable
automation include numerically controlled (NC) machine tools, industrial robots, and pro-
grammable logic controllers.

Flexible Automation. Flexible automation is an extension of programmable

automation. A flexible automated system is capable of producing a variety of parts or
products with virtually no time lost for changeovers from one design to the next. There
is no lost production time while reprogramming the system and altering the physical
setup (tooling, fixtures, and machine settings). Accordingly, the system can produce
various mixes and schedules of parts or products instead of requiring that they be made
in batches. What makes flexible automation possible is that the differences between
parts processed by the system are not significant, so the amount of changeover between
designs is minimal. Features of flexible automation include (1) high investment for a
custom-engineered system, (2) continuous production of variable mixtures of parts or
products, (3) medium production rates, and (4) flexibility to deal with product design
variations. Examples of flexible automation are flexible manufacturing systems that
­perform machining processes.

1.2.2 Computerized Manufacturing Support Systems

Automation of the manufacturing support systems is aimed at reducing the amount of

manual and clerical effort in product design, manufacturing planning and control, and
the business functions of the firm. Nearly all modern manufacturing support systems are
implemented using computers. Indeed, computer technology is used to implement auto-
mation of the manufacturing systems in the factory as well. Computer-integrated manu-
facturing (CIM) denotes the pervasive use of computer systems to design the ­products,
plan the production, control the operations, and perform the various information-­
processing functions needed in a manufacturing firm. True CIM involves integrating all
of these functions in one system that operates throughout the enterprise. Other terms
are used to identify specific elements of the CIM system; for example, computer-aided
design (CAD) supports the product design function. Computer-aided manufacturing
(CAM) is used for functions related to manufacturing engineering, such as process plan-
ning and numerical control part programming. Some computer systems perform both
CAD and CAM, and so the term CAD/CAM is used to indicate the integration of the
two into one system.
Computer-integrated manufacturing involves the information-processing activities
that provide the data and knowledge required to successfully produce the product. These
activities are accomplished to implement the four basic manufacturing support functions
identified earlier: (1) business functions, (2) product design, (3) manufacturing planning,
and (4) manufacturing control.
10 Chap. 1 / Introduction

1.2.3 Reasons for Automating

Companies undertake projects in automation and computer-integrated manufacturing for

good reasons, some of which are the following:

1. Increase labor productivity. Automating a manufacturing operation invariably

increases production rate and labor productivity. This means greater output per hour
of labor input.
2. Reduce labor cost. Increasing labor cost has been, and continues to be, the trend
in the world’s industrialized societies. Consequently, higher investment in
automation has become economically justifiable to replace manual operations.
Machines are increasingly being substituted for human labor to reduce unit
­product cost.
3. Mitigate the effects of labor shortages. There is a general shortage of labor in many
advanced nations, and this has stimulated the development of automated operations
as a substitute for labor.
4. Reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical tasks. An argument can be put forth
that there is social value in automating operations that are routine, boring, fatiguing,
and possibly irksome. Automating such tasks improves the general level of working
conditions.
5. Improve worker safety. Automating a given operation and transferring the worker
from active participation in the process to a monitoring role, or removing the
worker from the operation altogether, makes the work safer. The safety and physi-
cal ­well-being of the worker has become a national objective with the enactment
of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in 1970. This has provided an
impetus for automation.
6. Improve product quality. Automation not only results in higher production rates than
manual operation, it also performs the manufacturing process with greater consis-
tency and conformity to quality specifications.
7. Reduce manufacturing lead time. Automation helps reduce the elapsed time between
customer order and product delivery, providing a competitive advantage to the man-
ufacturer for future orders. By reducing manufacturing lead time, the manufacturer
also reduces work-in-process inventory.
8. Accomplish processes that cannot be done manually. Certain operations cannot
be accomplished without the aid of a machine. These processes require precision,
­miniaturization, or complexity of geometry that cannot be achieved manually.
­Examples include certain integrated circuit fabrication operations, rapid prototyp-
ing processes based on computer graphics (CAD) models, and the machining of
complex, mathematically defined surfaces using computer numerical control. These
processes can only be realized by computer-controlled systems.
9. Avoid the high cost of not automating. There is a significant competitive advan-
tage gained in automating a manufacturing plant. The advantage cannot always be
­demonstrated on a company’s project authorization form. The benefits of automa-
tion often show up in unexpected and intangible ways, such as in improved quality,
higher sales, better labor relations, and better company image. Companies that do
not automate are likely to find themselves at a competitive disadvantage with their
customers, their employees, and the general public.
Sec. 1.3 / Manual Labor in Production Systems 11

1.3 MANUAL LABOR IN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Is there a place for manual labor in the modern production system? The answer is yes.
Even in a highly automated production system, humans are still a necessary component of
the manufacturing enterprise. For the foreseeable future, people will be required to man-
age and maintain the plant, even in those cases where they do not participate directly in
its manufacturing operations. The discussion of the labor issue is separated into two parts,
corresponding to the previous distinction between facilities and manufacturing support:
(1) manual labor in factory operations and (2) labor in manufacturing support systems.

1.3.1 Manual Labor in Factory Operations

There is no denying that the long-term trend in manufacturing is toward greater use of
automated machines to substitute for manual labor. This has been true throughout human
history, and there is every reason to believe the trend will continue. It has been made pos-
sible by applying advances in technology to factory operations. In parallel and sometimes
in conflict with this technologically driven trend are issues of economics that continue to
find reasons for employing manual labor in manufacturing.
Certainly one of the current economic realities in the world is that there are coun-
tries whose average hourly wage rates are so low that most automation projects are dif-
ficult to justify strictly on the basis of cost reduction. These countries include China, India,
Mexico, and many countries in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
With the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the North
American continent has become one large labor pool. Within this pool, Mexico’s labor
rate is an order of magnitude less than that in the United States. U.S. corporate execu-
tives who make decisions on factory locations and the outsourcing of work must reckon
with this reality.
In addition to the labor cost issue, there are other reasons, ultimately based on eco-
nomics, that make the use of manual labor a feasible alternative to automation. Humans
possess certain attributes that give them an advantage over machines in certain situations
and certain kinds of tasks (Table 1.1). A number of situations can be listed in which manual
labor is preferred over automation:

• Task is technologically too difficult to automate. Certain tasks are very difficult (either
technologically or economically) to automate. Reasons for the difficulty include (1)
problems with physical access to the work location, (2) adjustments required in the
task, (3) manual dexterity requirements, and (4) demands on hand–eye coordina-
tion. Manual labor is used to perform the tasks in these cases. Examples include
automobile final assembly lines where many final trim operations are accomplished
by human workers, inspection tasks that require judgment to assess quality, and
material handling tasks that involve flexible or fragile materials.
• Short product life cycle. If a product must be designed and introduced in a short
period of time to meet a near-term window of opportunity in the marketplace, or
if the product is anticipated to be on the market for a relatively short period, then
a manufacturing method designed around manual labor allows for a much sooner
product launch than does an automated method. Tooling for manual production can
be fabricated in much less time and at much lower cost than comparable automation
tooling.
12 Chap. 1 / Introduction

• Customized product. If the customer requires a one-of-a-kind item with unique

features, manual labor has the advantage as the appropriate production resource
because of its versatility and adaptability. Humans are more flexible than any auto-
mated machine.
• Ups and downs in demand. Changes in demand for a product necessitate changes in
production output levels. Such changes are more easily made when manual labor is
used as the means of production. An automated manufacturing system has a fixed
cost associated with its investment. If output is reduced, that fixed cost must be
spread over fewer units, driving up the unit cost of the product. On the other hand,
an automated system has an ultimate upper limit on its output capacity. It cannot
produce more than its rated capacity. By contrast, manual labor can be added or
reduced as needed to meet demand, and the associated cost of the resource is in
direct proportion to its employment. Manual labor can be used to augment the out-
put of an existing automated system during those periods when demand exceeds the
capacity of the automated system.
• Need to reduce risk of product failure. A company introducing a new product to the
market never knows for sure what the ultimate success of that product will be. Some
products will have long life cycles, while others will be on the market for relatively
short periods. The use of manual labor as the productive resource at the beginning
of the product’s life reduces the company’s risk of losing a significant investment in
automation if the product fails to achieve a long market life. Section 1.4.3 discusses
an automation migration strategy that is suitable for introducing a new product.
• Lack of capital. Companies are sometimes forced to use manual labor in their pro-
duction operations when they lack the capital to invest in automated equipment.

1.3.2 Labor in Manufacturing Support Systems

In manufacturing support functions, many of the routine manual and clerical tasks can
be automated using computer systems. Certain production planning activities are b ­ etter
accomplished by computers than by clerks. Material requirements planning (MRP,
­Section 25.2) is an example. In material requirements planning, order releases are gener-
ated for component parts and raw materials based on the master production schedule
for final products. This requires a massive amount of data processing that is best suited
to computer automation. Many commercial software packages are available to perform
MRP. With few exceptions, companies that use MRP rely on computers to perform the
computations. Humans are still required to interpret and implement the MRP output and
to manage the production planning function.
In modern production systems, the computer is used as an aid in performing virtually
all manufacturing support activities. Computer-aided design systems are used in product
design. The human designer is still required to do the creative work. The CAD system
is a tool that augments the designer’s creative talents. Computer-aided process planning
systems are used by manufacturing engineers to plan the production methods. In these
examples, humans are integral components in the operation of the manufacturing support
functions, and the computer-aided systems are tools to increase productivity and improve
quality. CAD and CAM systems rarely operate completely in automatic mode.
Humans will continue to be needed in manufacturing support systems, even as the
level of automation in these systems increases. People will be needed to do the deci-
sion making, learning, engineering, evaluating, managing, and other functions for which
Sec. 1.4 / Automation Principles and Strategies 13

humans are better suited than machines, according to Table 1.1. Even if all of the manu-
facturing systems in the factory are automated, there is still a need for the following kinds
of work to be performed by humans:

• Equipment maintenance. Skilled technicians are required to maintain and repair the
automated systems in the factory when these systems break down. To improve the reli-
ability of the automated systems, preventive maintenance programs are implemented.
• Programming and computer operation. There will be a continual demand to upgrade
software, install new versions of software packages, and execute the programs. It is
anticipated that much of the routine process planning, numerical control part program-
ming, and robot programming may be highly automated using artificial intelligence
(AI) in the future. AI and its relationship with automation are discussed in Section 4.4.
• Engineering project work. The computer-automated and integrated factory is likely
never to be finished. There will be a continual need to upgrade production ­machines,
design tooling, solve technical problems, and undertake continuous improvement
­projects. These activities require the skills of engineers and others working in the factory.
• Plant management. Someone must be responsible for running the factory. There
will be a staff of professional managers and engineers who are responsible for plant
operations. There is likely to be an increased emphasis on managers’ technical skills
compared with traditional factory management positions, where the emphasis is on
personnel skills.

1.4 AUTOMATION PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGIES

The preceding section leads one to conclude that automation is not always the right answer
for a given production situation. A certain caution and respect must be observed in
­applying automation technologies. This section offers three approaches for dealing with
automation projects1: (1) the USA Principle, (2) Ten Strategies for Automation and
­Process Improvement, and (3) an Automation Migration Strategy.

1.4.1 The USA Principle

The USA Principle is a commonsense approach to automation and process improvement

projects. Similar procedures have been suggested in the manufacturing and automa-
tion trade literature, but none has a more captivating title than this one. USA stands for
(1) understand the existing process, (2) simplify the process, and (3) automate the pro-
cess. A statement of the USA Principle appeared in an article published by the American
­Production and Inventory Control Society [5]. The article is concerned with implementing
enterprise resource planning (ERP, Section 25.7), but the USA approach is so general that
it is applicable to nearly any automation project. Going through each step of the procedure
for an automation project may in fact reveal that simplifying the process is sufficient and
automation is not necessary.

1
There are additional approaches not discussed here, but in which the reader may be interested—for
example, the ten steps to integrated manufacturing production systems discussed in J. Black’s book The Design
of the Factory with a Future [1]. Much of Black’s book deals with lean production and the Toyota Production
System, which is covered in Chapter 26 of the present book.
14 Chap. 1 / Introduction

Understand the Existing Process. The first step in the USA approach is to com-
prehend the current process in all of its details. What are the inputs? What are the outputs?
What exactly happens to the work unit2 between input and output? What is the function
of the process? How does it add value to the product? What are the upstream and down-
stream operations in the production sequence, and can they be combined with the process
under consideration?
Some of the traditional industrial engineering charting tools used in methods analysis
are useful in this regard, such as the operation chart and the flow process chart [3]. Applica-
tion of these tools to the existing process provides a model of the process that can be ana-
lyzed and searched for weaknesses (and strengths). The number of steps in the process, the
number and placement of inspections, the number of moves and delays experienced by the
work unit, and the time spent in storage can be ascertained by these charting techniques.
Mathematical models of the process may also be useful to indicate relationships
between input parameters and output variables. What are the important output variables?
How are these output variables affected by inputs to the process, such as raw material
properties, process settings, operating parameters, and environmental conditions? This
information may be valuable in identifying what output variables need to be measured for
feedback purposes and in formulating algorithms for automatic process control.

Simplify the Process. Once the existing process is understood, then the search
begins for ways to simplify. This often involves a checklist of questions about the existing
process. What is the purpose of this step or this transport? Is the step necessary? How does
it add value to the output? Can it be eliminated? Does it use the most appropriate technol-
ogy? How can it be simplified? Are there unnecessary steps in the process that might be
eliminated without detracting from function?
Some of the ten strategies for automation and process improvement (Section 1.4.2)
can help simplify the process. Can steps be combined? Can steps be performed simultane-
ously? Can steps be integrated into a manually operated production line?

Automate the Process. Once the process has been reduced to its simplest form,
then automation can be considered. The possible forms of automation include those listed
in the ten strategies discussed in the following section. An automation migration strategy
(such as the one in Section 1.4.3) might be implemented for a new product that has not
yet proven itself.

1.4.2 Ten Strategies for Automation and Process Improvement

Applying the USA Principle is a good approach in any automation project. As suggested
previously, it may turn out that automation of the process is unnecessary or cannot be cost
justified after the process has been simplified.
If automation seems a feasible solution to improving productivity, quality, or
other measure of performance, then the following ten strategies provide a road map
to search for these improvements. These ten strategies were originally published in the
author’s first book.3 They seem as relevant and appropriate today as they did in 1980.

2
The work unit is the part or product being processed or assembled.
3
M. P. Groover, Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Aided Manufacturing, Prentice Hall,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1980.
Sec. 1.4 / Automation Principles and Strategies 15

They are referred to as strategies for automation and process improvement because
some of them are applicable whether the process is a candidate for automation or just for
simplification.

1. Specialization of operations. The first strategy involves the use of special-purpose

equipment designed to perform one operation with the greatest possible efficiency.
This is analogous to the specialization of labor, which is employed to improve labor
productivity.
2. Combined operations. Production occurs as a sequence of operations. Complex
parts may require dozens or even hundreds of processing steps. The strategy
of combined operations involves reducing the number of distinct production
­machines or workstations through which the part must be routed. This is accom-
plished by performing more than one operation at a given machine, thereby
­reducing the number of separate machines needed. Since each machine typically
involves a setup, setup time can usually be saved by this strategy. Material han-
dling effort, nonoperation time, waiting time, and manufacturing lead time are
all reduced.
3. Simultaneous operations. A logical extension of the combined operations strategy
is to simultaneously perform the operations that are combined at one workstation.
In effect, two or more processing (or assembly) operations are performed simultane-
ously on the same work part, thus reducing total processing time.
4. Integration of operations. This strategy involves linking several workstations together
into a single integrated mechanism, using automated work handling devices to trans-
fer parts between stations. In effect, this reduces the number of separate work centers
through which the product must be scheduled. With more than one workstation,
several parts can be processed simultaneously, thereby increasing the overall output
of the system.
5. Increased flexibility. This strategy attempts to achieve maximum utilization of equip-
ment for job shop and medium-volume situations by using the same equipment for
a variety of parts or products. It involves the use of programmable or flexible auto-
mation (Section 1.2.1). Prime objectives are to reduce setup time and programming
time for the production machine. This normally translates into lower manufacturing
lead time and less work-in-process.
6. Improved material handling and storage. A great opportunity for reducing nonpro-
ductive time exists in the use of automated material handling and storage systems.
Typical benefits include reduced work-in-process, shorter manufacturing lead times,
and lower labor costs.
7. On-line inspection. Inspection for quality of work is traditionally performed after
the process is completed. This means that any poor-quality product has already been
produced by the time it is inspected. Incorporating inspection into the manufacturing
process permits corrections to the process as the product is being made. This reduces
scrap and brings the overall quality of the product closer to the nominal specifications
intended by the designer.
8. Process control and optimization. This includes a wide range of control schemes
intended to operate the individual processes and associated equipment more
­efficiently. By this strategy, the individual process times can be reduced and product
quality can be improved.
16 Chap. 1 / Introduction

9. Plant operations control. Whereas the previous strategy is concerned with the control
of individual manufacturing processes, this strategy is concerned with control at the
plant level. It attempts to manage and coordinate the aggregate operations in the
plant more efficiently. Its implementation involves a high level of computer network-
ing within the factory.
10. Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). Taking the previous strategy one level
higher, CIM involves extensive use of computer systems, databases, and networks
throughout the enterprise to integrate the factory operations and business functions.

The ten strategies constitute a checklist of possibilities for improving the production
system through automation or simplification. They should not be considered mutually
exclusive. For most situations, multiple strategies can be implemented in one improvement
project. The reader will see these strategies implemented in the many systems discussed
throughout the book.

1.4.3 Automation Migration Strategy

Owing to competitive pressures in the marketplace, a company often needs to introduce a

new product in the shortest possible time. As mentioned previously, the easiest and least
expensive way to accomplish this introduction is to design a manual production method,
using a sequence of workstations operating independently. The tooling for a manual
method can be fabricated quickly and at low cost. If more than a single set of workstations
is required to make the product in sufficient quantities, as may be the case, then the manual
cell is replicated as many times as needed to meet demand. If the product turns out to be
successful, and high future demand is anticipated, then it makes sense for the company to
automate production. The improvements are often carried out in phases. Many companies
have an automation migration strategy, that is, a formalized plan for evolving the manu-
facturing systems used to produce new products as demand grows. A typical automation
migration strategy is the following:

Phase 1: Manual production using single-station manned cells operating indepen-

dently. This is used for introduction of the new product for reasons already
mentioned: quick and low-cost tooling to get started.
Phase 2: Automated production using single-station automated cells operating
independently. As demand for the product grows, and it becomes clear
that automation can be justified, then the single stations are automated
to reduce labor and increase production rate. Work units are still moved
between workstations manually.
Phase 3: Automated integrated production using a multi-station automated sys-
tem with serial operations and automated transfer of work units between
­stations. When the company is certain that the product will be produced in
mass quantities and for several years, then integration of the single-station
automated cells is warranted to further reduce labor and increase produc-
tion rate.

This strategy is illustrated in Figure 1.6. Details of the automation migration strat-
egy vary from company to company, depending on the types of products they make and
the manufacturing processes they perform. But well-managed manufacturing companies
Sec. 1.4 / Automation Principles and Strategies 17

Phase 1 Manual workstations Manual handling

Starting Completed
work units work units

Worker
Work-in-process

Phase 2
Manual handling
Automated workstations

Aut Aut Aut

Automated integrated
production
Connected stations
Automated
Product demand

production

One-station Phase 3 Automated transfer

cells of work units

Manual
production Aut Aut Aut

One-
station
cells
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Time

Figure 1.6 A typical automation migration strategy. Phase 1: manual

production with single independent workstations. Phase 2: automated
production stations with manual handling between stations. Phase 3:
automated integrated production with automated handling between
stations. Key: Aut = automated workstation.

have policies like the automation migration strategy. There are several advantages of such
a strategy:

• It allows introduction of the new product in the shortest possible time, since
­production cells based on manual workstations are the easiest to design and
implement.
• It allows automation to be introduced gradually (in planned phases), as demand for
the product grows, engineering changes in the product are made, and time is pro-
vided to do a thorough design job on the automated manufacturing system.
• It avoids the commitment to a high level of automation from the start, because there
is always a risk that demand for the product will not justify it.
18 Chap. 1 / Introduction

1.5 ABOUT THIS BOOK

The title of this book gives a good indication of its contents, as any textbook title should. This
chapter has provided an overview of production systems, their components, and how they
are sometimes automated and computerized. This overview is summarized in Figure 1.4.
An alternative perspective of production systems is presented in Figure 1.7, which shows six
major categories of technical topics related to production systems. The figure is also a diagram
of the book and how it is organized into six parts corresponding to these categories.
Part I consists of two chapters that survey manufacturing operations and develop
mathematical models to measure performance and costs in manufacturing.
Part II covers automation and control technologies. Whereas this Introduction
­discusses automation in general terms, Part II describes the technologies, which include
industrial control systems, numerical control, industrial robotics, and programmable logic
controllers.
Part III is concerned with material handling and identification used in factories and
warehouses. The technologies involve equipment for transporting materials, storing them,
and automatically identifying them for tracking purposes.
Part IV emphasizes the integration of automation and material handling technolo-
gies into manufacturing systems that operate in the factory. Some of these systems are
highly automated, while others rely largely on manual labor. Chapters include coverage
of single-station work cells, production lines, assembly systems, cellular manufacturing,
and flexible manufacturing systems.
The importance of quality control must not be overlooked in modern production
systems. Part V covers this topic, dealing with statistical process control and inspec-
tion issues. Some of the significant inspection technologies are discussed here, such as
machine vision and coordinate measuring machines. As suggested in Figure 1.7, quality

Manufacturing
support systems
Enterprise level

Quality control
systems

Automation and Material handling

control technologies and identification
Factory level

Manufacturing systems

Manufacturing operations

Figure 1.7 The six major categories of technical topics related to production
systems, corresponding to the six parts of this book: Part I Manufacturing
operations, Part II Automation and control technologies, Part III Material
handling and identification, Part IV Manufacturing systems, Part V Quality
control systems, and Part VI Manufacturing support systems.
Review Questions 19

control (QC) systems are connected to both facilities and manufacturing support systems.
QC is an enterprise-level function, but it has equipment and procedures that work in
the factory.
Finally, Part VI addresses the remaining manufacturing support functions in the
production system. Included is a chapter on product design and how it is supported
by CAD. Other chapters include process planning and design for manufacturing, pro-
duction planning and control, including topics such as material requirements planning
(MRP, mentioned earlier), manufacturing resource planning (MRP II), and enterprise
resource planning (ERP). The book concludes with a chapter on just-in-time and lean
production—approaches that modern manufacturing companies are using to run their
businesses.

REFERENCES

[1] Black, J. T., The Design of the Factory with a Future, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, NY, 1991.
[2] Groover, M. P., Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials, Processes, and Systems,
6th ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, 2016.
[3] Groover, M. P., Work Systems and the Methods, Measurement, and Management of Work,
Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2007.
[4] Harrington, J., Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Industrial Press, Inc., New York,
NY, 1973.
[5] Kapp, K. M., “The USA Principle,” APICS—The Performance Advantage, June 1997,
pp. 62–66.
[6] Spangler, T., R. Mahajan, S. Puckett, and D. Stakem, “Manual Labor—Advantages, When
and Where?” MSE 427 Term Paper, Lehigh University, 1998.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.1 What is a production system?

1.2 Production systems consist of two major components. Name and briefly define them.
1.3 What are manufacturing systems, and how are they distinguished from production systems?
1.4 Manufacturing systems are divided into three categories, according to worker participation.
Name them.
1.5 What are the four functions included within the scope of manufacturing support systems?
1.6 Three basic types of automation are defined in the text. What is fixed automation and what
are some of its features?
1.7 What is programmable automation and what are some of its features?
1.8 What is flexible automation and what are some of its features?
1.9 What is computer-integrated manufacturing?
1.10 What are some of the reasons why companies automate their operations?
1.11 Identify three situations in which manual labor is preferred over automation.
1.12 Human workers will be needed in factory operations, even in the most highly automated
systems. The text identifies at least four types of work for which humans will be needed.
Name them.
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 She looked at him now with clear, resigned eyes. She said quietly, "Is
there any use of it?"

"Not if you—couldn't love me. If you don't believe in my love, or that I

could make you happy."

She replied slowly, "How I wish I could say to you, or put clearly to
myself, all that is in my mind. I wish I dared listen to you. But it will be
easier for both of us—the less there is to remember. Please let me go."

Despair crept into his voice as he answered her, "Perhaps you have
condemned me already. Is that what you mean?"

She said proudly, "You don't understand. If I was sure I loved a man, and
wanted to marry him, it would be for what he meant to me, not what he had
meant to other women." He started eagerly to interrupt, but she held up her
hand. "But even if you were that man," she said firmly, "I wouldn't say 'yes.'
It would only mean unhappiness for both of us—in the end. We are not
meant for each other."

"But why?—why?" he cried.

She replied, "I cannot tell you."

"It's unjust. Unfair! You're denying me—and perhaps yourself—the

greatest happiness in the world, and giving no reason for it."

"Please!" she cried, as he seemed about to sweep her into his arms, to
crush out all of her doubts and questionings. "There is so much unnecessary
suffering in the world. Let us spare ourselves any needless pain. I mean what
I have said—and please believe that I am sorry—for both of us."

He followed her with stricken, beaten eyes as she slowly walked into her
office and took her hat and coat.

"Good-bye, Mary," he said as calmly as he could.

"Good-bye," she said. "I shall be in in the the morning—as usual."

 As usual! When she had gone, he flung himself into John's chair and put
his head into his arms, pressing his fingers into his forehead to crush out the
pain that was there. He remained thus for half an hour, unable to think, to
move, aching in body and soul. Then, gradually, a reaction set in. Why had
he to suffer so? Why had the only pure love he had ever had in his life been
cast aside as if it were something presumptuous, unclean?

He forced himself to his feet and walked into his own office, hardly
knowing what he was doing, and, spreading the papers from his brief case
out upon his desk, he tried to work on the new estimates for Dorning. He
was starting to pity himself now, and gradually a fierce resentment, not
against Mary—for he still loved Mary—but against the whole scheme of
things, the world with its petty moral code, seized him. He laughed aloud,
and it echoed very unpleasantly through the vacant office. Bah! What was
the use of burying his past, when the past had arisen from its coffin to mock
him at the critical moment. Bah! Why deny one's self pleasures, why fight
against women like Elise, why try to change the leopard's spots when the
world chose to think them blacker than they really were?

He tossed his pencil down impatiently and took to pacing the office. A
mad, reckless mood was coming upon him that he could not control. It was
after nine o'clock when finally he forced himself back into his chair, his
mind having been wrenched into a semblance of order, and resumed his
labors upon the report.

He did not hear the light tap upon his door. It was not until the door
softly opened and quietly closed again that he became aware that a second
person was in the room.

CHAPTER XV

Elise was standing just inside the door, smiling at him from the shadows.
 She had changed her costume. A gauzy black wrap covered her black
evening gown, from which her white shoulders could be seen rising. Her
small, tight-fitting black hat was draped with black lace that shaded her eyes
almost with the effect of a mask. She was quite aware of the impression she
made as she stood there silently. The tired man raised his eyes and stared at
her. Then he pulled his long, handsome body out of the chair and arose
questioningly.

At length she approached him and said lightly, "Ah, you are a man of
your word after all. I was afraid the work was just a bluff."

"Why have you come back?" he asked almost sharply from behind the
table. "You must go at once."

"Oh, don't be annoyed, Rodrigo. No one saw me come in. I have a

private key to the place, you know. Please don't begrudge me the innocent
pleasure of doing something slightly clandestine." She came near to the chair
opposite him, and went on, "And now that I am here, won't you be a polite
host and ask me to sit down?" Without waiting for the invitation, she took
the chair, laying aside her wrap as she did so.

He sank into the chair opposite and rustled the papers uneasily.

"I haven't had dinner yet, Rodrigo," she suggested. "I thought that if I
came back you might relent and take me to dinner. In fact, I was so sure of it
that I dashed up to Aunt Helen's and changed my gown."

He was silent for a moment, and then he raised his head suddenly and,
looking her in the eyes, said, "I'm sorry you came back, and I won't take you
to dinner. But now that you are here, it's as good a time as any to talk certain
things out that are bound to come up sooner or later."

She made a wry little face, cupped her finely ovaled chin in her hands,
and smiled at him. "Heavens, Rodrigo, I believe you, of all men, are about to
preach to me. Please don't, I beg of you! Remember that I am the wife of a
man who is somewhat of a preacher."

"Leave John out of it," he returned. "He's altogether too good for either
of us to discuss. You and I understand each other, Elise. I am quite aware of
the game you have been playing. I——"

She cut in with an unpleasant little laugh. She rather enjoyed his violent
seriousness.

"So—I have been playing a game," she encouraged him.

"Yes. You married John for his money. You wanted to marry me until
you discovered that I was poor."

She was not offended. "Why didn't you warn your best friend then, if you
saw through my purpose so clearly?" she asked calmly.

"What chance did I have to warn him? He was head over heels in love
with you at once, and it was too late. It would have half killed the poor chap
to tell him the truth. I had to let him make his mistake."

Her smile left her face and her eyes darkened. "No, I will not let you say
that," she replied earnestly. "I will grant you that I married John chiefly for
his money. I admire him—but I have never loved him. And I did outwit you,
my friend. You made a very clever attempt to show John what an error he
was making in falling in love with me, but I forestalled you. And that was
quite a feat, Rodrigo, for you are usually rather keen in matters of that sort.

"But I have made John happy. He tells me that fifty times a day—fifty
times too many! One does not enjoy having it drummed into one that one is
an angel. I have taken his money and his love, but I have been faithful to him
and I have made him a good wife. Now I think I have earned the right to a
little something for myself."

He stared at her tensely. "What do you mean, Elise?" he asked.

Her manner lost its hardness, and she leaned toward him.

"I had to marry the wrong man, Rodrigo," she said softly. "My whole
existence has had its foundation in money. But it hasn't made me happy. I
have been miserable ever since my marriage. It hasn't made me stop—loving
you!"
 "Elise—no! You mustn't say that," he cried, and rose swiftly to his feet.

She had risen too as she said, "I won't believe that you are as surprised as
you pretend to be. You must have guessed it plainly enough many times. I
think that we were meant for each other and that a few words spoken by a
minister is not going to keep us apart. I will ask John for a divorce if you
wish, and marry you. I will do anything—but I will not go on living a lie."

He stared at her, fascinated, wondering if he had heard her aright. Had

some malignant fate brought her and her confession to him at the precise
moment when Mary had abandoned him?

He said slowly, "You will have to go on. You are mad to think of
anything else. I will go away at once, home to Italy. I had planned to go over
there this fall anyway. But I will change my plans, and not return."

She laughed. "And you think that I am innocent enough to believe that
would be the only reason for your departure. Mary Drake has evidently told
you that she is leaving here also."

He started, suspicion dawning in his eyes. He asked, "Mary has told you
that? You must have spoken to her about me first. What did you say to her?"

"Yes, I spoke to her about you. I told her the truth. I told her that she
could never be happy with you, that you are not the sort to stay contented
with such a wife. And I think she agreed with me. She is a very sensible girl.
There are certain traits in your character, Rodrigo, that a girl like Mary could
never reconcile herself to."

He returned fiercely, "That's rot! If there's anything about me that Mary

could object to, it's long since passed. I'm through with my past forever. No
woman in the world means a thing to me but Mary."

Her answer was to come close to him and say softly, "You have lost
Mary forever, Rodrigo. In your heart you know it. And in your heart you
know that what you have just said is nonsense. I dare you to test it. I dare
you to hold me in your arms and repeat it. I dare you to kiss me—and then
let me go!"
 He caught her hand. "Elise, are you crazy!" But he did not relinquish her
hand, until her arms had slipped slowly around his neck and her lips were
very close to his.

"Why do we pretend any longer, you and I?" she murmured. "You are not
like John or Mary. You are only chasing thin, white shadows when you try to
fashion yourself after them." And with a swift movement of her head she
had kissed him.

He cried, "No—no! You must go—please."

"I love you." And she clung to him.

Fascinated, harassed, he did not resist her any longer. He took her into
his arms and buried her face in his kisses.

When at last he let her go, she still held him close and said almost in a
whisper, "We will go to the Van Clair, Rodrigo, and dine high up on the roof,
near the stars. You can go to your appointment afterward. No one will know
—or care."

"Except our own souls."

"I don't believe we have any," she said, with a queer little note of
solemnity. "I think this life, this happiness, is all—and we must take it while
we may."

He kissed her again, completely under her spell, and then he said tensely,
"Go now, Elise. I will finish here, and I will meet you in fifteen minutes at
the Van Clair."

Obediently she secured her wrap from the table, flung it about her and
started for the door.

She smiled back at him, whispering, "In fifteen minutes, Rodrigo." And
just as she closed the door, "I love you."

He turned, his emotions running riot within him, back to the papers on
his desk. For ten minutes he tried in vain to work. Then, with a gesture of
helplessness, he started tossing the papers into his brief case. He had risen
and taken his hat when the telephone rang.

It was John.

"Did you line up the stuff, Rodrigo?" came Dorning's distant voice. "I
took a chance on finding you at the office. I wanted to make sure to-night
that everything was all right and you were coming down here, because
Hodge and Story's representative just got in and is all set to take the business
away from us."

John! It was like the voice of a rescuing angel. Rodrigo with an effort
composed himself and replied, "Everything is fine, John, and I'm taking a
train in half an hour."

"Great," said the voice on the wire. "And Elise—did you have dinner
with her? Have you seen her?"

Rodrigo replied, "No."

By the time he had hung up the receiver he had made his decision. Elise's
spell was broken, broken by that trusting voice on the wire. He would not
even telephone her that he was not coming to her. He could not trust himself
to talk with her. If she were desperately offended, so much the better!

He seized his brief case and hat and made for the door and a taxi-cab.

CHAPTER XVI

Rodrigo flung himself into his berth on the midnight train to Philadelphia
with no idea of sleep. One resolve kept pounding in his head. He would tell
John Dorning everything when he saw him, and then he would clear out. He
heard people shuffling in the aisle outside of his curtained resting place.
They were addressing the porter and each other in that hoarse penetrating
whisper that passengers affect on sleeping cars with the mistaken idea that it
does not disturb the sleepers. He became conscious of the train getting under
way with clanging bell and dashing about of human feet on the cement
platform. For half the journey across the flats of New Jersey he was awake.
Then, emotionally and physically exhausted, he fell into a doze.

Crisp, sunshiny weather greeted him as he stepped out into Broad Street,
Philadelphia, some hours later. It had the effect of clearing his brain. The
world was rolling along cheerfully, unconcerned, after all. Ferris and the
other members of the library committee were already in session with John
when Rodrigo appeared at Ferris's office.

John had the opportunity for only a word or two with his partner
privately before the conference went into session. "Did you go to dinner and
the concert with Elise?" Dorning asked eagerly. When Rodrigo shook his
head in the negative, John frowned a little and went on dolefully, "Gad, how
I miss her. Whatever the consequence, I'm not going to leave her again. I'll
bring her along, no matter how bored she gets."

It seemed to Rodrigo in that instant that it would be nothing short of

murder to shatter this man's dream. He simply couldn't do it, at least not for
the present.

Nor was he any nearer to his confession that evening as John sat opposite
him in the dining car on the way back to New York. John was elated. They
had closed the contract successfully and he was going back to Elise. He
chided Rodrigo several times with being so preoccupied. They parted at
Grand Central Station, John having two minutes in which to catch the
Greenwich-bound train.

Mary Drake was putting flowers in a vase on his desk when Rodrigo
arrived at his office the next morning. She frequently did this, but
considering the circumstances surrounding their last conversation, he was a
little surprised to find her there. Nevertheless he greeted her gravely and
stood standing until she would have finished her task and departed. But he
became gradually aware that she was using the flowers as a subterfuge, that
she did not intend to leave until she had spoken to him.
 Mary said, with the air of a person who has been thinking something
over for some time and is having some difficulty in expressing exactly what
she means, "Rodrigo—there is something I should like to say." And, though
he offered her no encouragement, she continued. "I have come to the
conclusion that I was not as wise the last time I spoke to you as I thought I
was. I have been thinking it over ever since. I was unjust to you. I belittled
my feelings toward you. And I said there was a reason why we could never
marry, and I didn't do you the justice to tell you what it was."

"I don't think telling me now will help either of us," he replied, striving
to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Things have changed for me since
then. I over-estimated myself. I told you I was a better man—than I am. To-
day I see clearly that I was a fool."

She asked, suddenly apprehensive, "Something—that has taken away

your love for me?"

His reply was bitter. "No, my faith in myself. Night before last, I
weakened so that I don't deserve anybody's love, least of all, yours."

She recovered, smiled and came nearer to him, bravely intending to

comfort him. "You are too hard on yourself, Rodrigo. You are angry and
bitter. And that is my fault, I know."

"No, you have nothing to do with it," he said almost brutally. "I am going
away from here too, as soon as I can. I shall stay away, forever."

He was surprised at the response in her face. She seemed glad, relieved.
She hastened to explain. "Oh, Rodrigo, don't you see that that clears things
up for us, for you and me? That eliminates the barrier that stood between us?
I did not have the heart to tell you I could never say I loved you as long as
you remained with Dorning and Son, as long as you and John were so
closely associated. And I did not dare suggest breaking off your friendship."

"John?" he asked, mystified. "What has John got to do with you and
me?"

"Not John, but——"

 "Elise?"

She hesitated, then, "Yes. If I admitted to you that I loved you, I would
always have had her to fight. And I couldn't. She spoke to me about you day
before yesterday, and I saw that she would do anything to prevent us loving
each other. I did not believe what she said about you. But it showed me to
what lengths she would go, and I was afraid. Fighting her would mean the
end of your friendship with John, of your connection with Dorning and Son.
Oh, I realize the grip she has upon John. If it came to a choice between you
and her, you know which he would keep. And I was not sure what your
feeling for me might turn to if I were the cause of a break between you and
John. Mrs. Dorning is clever, fascinating, and, I am afraid, quite relentless. I
know her feelings toward you and how hard she has tried to——"

He cut in savagely, "Have I ever given you any reason to suppose that
Elise and I——"

"No. Not you," she interrupted quietly. "I have overheard you talking to
her on the telephone several times. I know how you have sought to avoid
her. I can speak frankly about her to you, I think. You will know that I am
not moved by jealousy or a desire to gossip or anything petty. But she has
called John's office several times from the Van Clair Hotel, for instance, on
occasions when she knew he was not here and was to meet her somewhere
later. She has given me messages over the 'phone for him, and each time I
heard voices laughing and shouting near her. One evening when I passed the
Van Clair on the way to the subway, she got out of a taxi with a strange man
and went in. That place had a bad reputation, you know. It is just as well for
New York that it has burned down."

He stared at her, startled, and, striving to make the question casual.

"There was a fire at the Van Clair? When?"

"Why, night before last, just after midnight. It was in all the papers. It
burned to the ground."

Dismay gripped him, and he turned away quickly so that she could not
see his face. At once Mary read that it had something to do with her, and she
laid her hand upon his shoulder, her face flushed and smiling.
 She said softly, "Perhaps it was that fire, the feeling it brought that we
never know what will happen, never realize how short a time we may have
to rectify a mistake, that showed me how wrong I was day before yesterday.
I love you, Rodrigo. I will be your wife—if you still want me."

He turned a stricken face to her. He was held in a sudden fear and

foreboding. He had hardly heard what she had said. And he had no time to
answer her, for the door of his office was flung violently open and John
Dorning, excited, disheveled, burst upon them.

"Rodrigo!" he cried from the door. Then, coming forward, "Thank God. I
found you here."

He looked so badly that Mary asked in alarm, "You're ill, John. Can I do
anything for you?"

"Thank you, Mary—no," he answered, and gathering from his tone that
he wished to be alone with his friend, she left quietly.

He almost ran up to Rodrigo. "Elise was not there when I got home,
Rodrigo! She left no word of any kind. I've called up everybody. I can't find
her."

Rodrigo sagged against the desk, as if struck a blow. He repeated dully,

"Can't find—Elise?"

"No. Rodrigo, do you know where she is—do you? I'm worried to death.
Anything might happen to her in this town. Accidents—anything."

By this time, with a great effort, Rodrigo had recovered a semblance of

control over himself. He spoke soothingly. "Oh, that's nonsense, John. Have
you called her friends?"

"Everybody. I've been to the police. I've traced all the ambulance calls.
I've found out about fatal fires, and there haven't been any, except one in
some hotel. I've driven and telephoned all over town. People must think I'm
crazy. I 'phoned Warren down at his place, and he's helping me search too."
He ran his hands nervously through his damp, blond hair. He cried, "And I
will go crazy, Rodrigo, if I don't get on track of her soon." He seized his
friend's lapel and fixed wild eyes upon him. "You don't think she could have
run away from me, left me without a word, do you? No, of course not. Not
that. We loved each other too much." He fell to pacing the floor rapidly.

"There's probably some very obvious explanation of her absence,"

Rodrigo strove to soothe him, and himself. "There usually is. Have you
called Mrs. Palmer?"

John turned abruptly, his whole expression changing to one of intense

relief. "I'm an idiot!" he cried. "I never thought of her. My car's outside. I'll
drive up there at once. Mrs. Palmer is ill, as a matter of fact. Perhaps she's
taken a turn for the worse and Elise was called there suddenly. I'll run right
up." He snatched up his hat and was gone.

Hardly had the door closed when Rodrigo bounded to the clothes-tree
and took the unread morning paper from his overcoat pocket. He sank into
his chair and spread the sheet eagerly on the desk in front of him. There, in
screaming black headlines, it leaped out at him:

VAN CLAIR FIRE VICTIM IS

STILL UNIDENTIFIED
————
Body of Woman Guest Thought to Have
Perished in Hotel Tragedy Has
Not Been Found
————

Up to an early hour this morning, the woman occupying

the room on the ninth floor of the ill-fated Hotel Van Clair,
which burned to the ground shortly after midnight
Wednesday, remained unidentified, and no trace of her
charred body had been found in the still smoking ruins. The
hotel register, the only direct means of identification, has
evidently burned and—
 With a sudden cry of anguish, he crushed the paper violently between his
hands, as if to destroy the devastating news it brought him. The sheet fell to
the floor as he stretched his arms out in a gesture of hopelessness.

After a while he became aware of a hand upon his shoulder, and Mary's
voice was saying gently, "I heard John leave, so I came back. What is
wrong!"

He felt himself crumpling. He leaned against her, raising his fear-stricken

eyes to her. "Elise! She's gone. John has been looking for her. He's half
crazy. But he'll never find her. I know." And, as her face remained
questioning, "The paper says a woman has been burned. The woman was
Elise—and I—I sent her there. She came back here that night and—well, she
fascinated me. I forgot everything. I was to meet her later at the Van Clair.
She left me to meet me there later. Then John telephoned long distance,
about the business, and I came to my senses. I didn't go to the hotel. She
must have stayed there. The fire broke out half an hour after she left me. So
you see, Mary—I sent her there—I killed Elise! And I can never tell John—
never!"

Growing horror gathered in her eyes. She whispered, "It is—horrible."

"I sent John away on a fool's errand. I had to have time to think."

She said tensely, "But you say she came back to you, here? It was her
idea, your going to the hotel? I know—the fascination of her, Rodrigo. And
she went there alone—"

"What difference does that make?" he said wildly. "What good that I
came to my senses? I sent her there. And now John! Counting on me to see
him through—me!"

"You must tell John," she said firmly.

"I can't!"

"It would be kinder than to let him live not knowing, always wondering
and hoping. It's cowardly not to tell him."
 "Tell him—that, because of me, his wife, his wife, whom he adored, is
dead?"

"Not because of you—in spite of you."

Rodrigo answered her, calmer, now reasoning. "You don't realize how he
loved her, set her up as a saint upon an altar. I could not tell him the truth. It
would blacken her forever before the whole world. I think he would prefer
suffering any torture rather than that."

"That is a compromise, Rodrigo, and, therefore, wrong."

He said excitedly: "Call it what you please—I can't tell him!"

"Not even if I promise to help you with all the love I am capable of?
Don't you see, Rodrigo?—I feel guilty with you. If I had not been so blind
before, this might not have happened." She held out her hands, pleading with
him, "Oh, Rodrigo, I love you. I did not realize how much until now. I can
forgive everything in you—but cowardice. I will stand by you—but please,
please tell John and ask him to forgive you. You can't see him through with
that guilt always before you. It's impossible."

But he reiterated stubbornly. "No, I cannot tell him. I cannot kill him too.
I would rather kill myself."

She asked quietly, "Not even if it means my love for you? Will you kill
that too?"

He replied slowly, "There's nothing—could make me tell him." His voice

was unsteady, hie eyes blinded with tears as he turned away from her, her
whole body drooping.

The telephone shrilled like a crack of doom, and he fumblingly lifted the
receiver as she waited.

"She hasn't been here, Rodrigo!" came John's anguished voice. "What
am I to do? I don't know——"
 "Don't lose your nerve, old man," Rodrigo replied, and his tones were
weak, almost unrecognizable.

"I'm at my wits' end. I've questioned her aunt, the servants here,
everybody."

"Come on back down here then, old man," urged Rodrigo. "We'll
workout a plan. Don't worry. I'll be here waiting. Come right down."

He hung up the receiver, staring ahead of him, seeming unconscious that

Mary was still there. When he became aware of her, he said as steadily as his
trembling body allowed, "We'll all be upset terribly—for a while. Please—
you will carry on temporarily, try to keep the place going, help us, won't
you?"

She answered, "Yes, I will carry on. Don't worry about business. It will
be all right." And her eyes too were full of tears.

CHAPTER XVII

Rodrigo sat on the edge of a chair in the living room of Henry Dorning's
house at Greenwich. Near him, his frail body sunk deeply in the cushions of
a large chair especially comfortably upholstered for his benefit, rested Henry
Dorning. The attitude of both was one of nervous expectancy. Had you,
however, been unacquainted personally with the two men and been told that
one of them was a semi-invalid, you might have been excused for choosing
Rodrigo as the ailing one. His lean face had grown thinner and his eyes were
dark-ringed from the ordeal he was passing through. His clothing showed
little trace of his usual sartorial fastidiousness. He fidgeted in his chair, and
when he attempted to light a cigarette the match was held so unsteadily that
the tobacco with difficulty caught fire. Henry Dorning, on the other hand,
though affected very deeply by the plight of his son, maintained a surface
calm that belied the turmoil within him.
 Indeed, Henry Dorning was at somewhat of a loss to understand the
extreme havoc which the disappearance of Elise had wrought in Rodrigo
Torriani. He knew that the friendship between John and Rodrigo was so
close that the catastrophe which had befallen his son would be shared by his
son's friend. But, after all, Rodrigo was a man of the world, of considerable
experience in emotional crises. Why had another's tragedy now broken him
up so savagely that he seemed upon the verge of a breakdown? Had not
more vital matters been pressing, Henry Dorning would have liked to
discover the answer to this question.

As for John Dorning, his mad search for his missing wife had, in the
physical sense, terminated for the time being. It had now been two weeks
since the fatal fire in the Van Clair. The wild rushing about and pursuit of
false clews, the almost total loss of sleep and food had caused John's frail
body and almost his strong mind, to snap definitely that morning. For days
Rodrigo had been warning him, urging him to abandon the search
temporarily, tried with everything in his power, except the uttering of the
truth about Elise, to prevent John from becoming a second victim. That
morning John had collapsed in Rodrigo's arms and lain in the latter's
apartment unconscious. Rodrigo had summoned a doctor and revived his
friend. On the physician's advice, he had brought the stricken man at top
speed in his car to Henry Dorning's home in Greenwich.
 "DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT I THINK OF YOU?"
MARY ASKED SOFTLY.

John had slumped, apparently more dead than alive, in the seat beside
Rodrigo throughout that rapid ride. John's father and sister Alice, apprised in
advance by telephone, had been awaiting their arrival. The tortured man, at
last too weak to protest further, had been put to bed and the Dorning's family
physician summoned.

The latter was now up with the sick man, as was Alice Pritchard. Henry
Dorning and Rodrigo were at present waiting for the report upon John's
condition.

"Hotchkiss is a long time about his examination," Henry Dorning said

finally, breaking a long silence. He had been observing Rodrigo narrowly,
and he thought perhaps occupying the Italian's mind with conversation might
allay some of Rodrigo's evident nervousness. Otherwise he feared Dr.
Hotchkiss might have another patient on his hands when he came
downstairs.

Rodrigo nodded shortly.

"It is a blessing, in a way, that John has given out at last," Mr. Dorning
went on seriously. "This break was bound to come. I could not stop his
frantic search. Neither could you, I suppose. Now he will be kept quiet and
will have a chance to recover." He was silent a moment, and then he asked
suddenly, "Rodrigo, do you think Elise will ever be found?"

Rodrigo turned his tired eyes quickly to his questioner. "Why—I don't
know," he faltered. "But I don't believe—she will."

"Nor do I," said Henry Dorning. "I think she ran away from my boy, and,
in doing so, met with a fatal accident somewhere, probably in a motor car.
That is my own theory, but of course I have nothing on which to base it. It is
merely intuition."

"But she and John were so happy together, loved each other so dearly.
Why should she run—"

"Nonsense," the elder Dorning said shortly. "John loved her with all his
heart. But I have thought from the first that she had no especial regard for
him. I diagnosed her at once as a selfish, frivolous woman. She married John
for his money, after carefully sizing the situation up and deciding that I
probably would not live very long. Oh, I know that is a brutal way of talking
about a woman who is probably dead now. But I cannot help it. I always
distrusted her and feared for what she would do to John. A number of her
actions confirmed my first suspicions. I was never one to interfere in the
private affairs of my children—both Alice and John will tell you that. But I
could not help but notice how, for example, Elise would disappear the
moment John had left on a business trip and not come back to Greenwich
until a few hours before his return. And the type of people she brought into
his house—riff-raff is the only word for them.
 "Yes, Rodrigo—I may be a terrible old ogre for saying so—but I am glad
that woman has gone. I do not, of course, wish her dead. I am afraid,
however, that is what has happened. Otherwise she would certainly have
communicated with John in some way by this time. You will remember that
I had Warren ask you once what you knew of Elise. He said that you told
him nothing. I am not going to question you, Rodrigo—now. But I will say
that I believe you knew what sort of woman she really was and that you
were afraid to tell John, because he was so infatuated with her that it would
hurt him. I respect you for that and think you did wisely. I also respect you
for trying to protect her when Warren questioned you. Any gentleman would
have done the same, and I was foolish and a little caddish for having the
question asked. However——"

But Rodrigo was never to know into what deep waters Henry Dorning's
line of thought might have led them, for at that moment Dr. Hotchkiss
appeared on the stairs and both men turned expectantly. The doctor was a
splendid figure of a man, tall, gray and distinguished looking. He was a
personal friend of Henry Dorning's as well as his medical advisor. His face
now bore a grave expression that confirmed the fears of the patient's two
best male friends.

Dr. Hotchkiss approached Rodrigo, who had risen and taken a step or
two forward in his anxiety, and the still seated Henry Dorning, whose
condition made it imperative that he walk only when necessary. The doctor
said quietly, "There is no use in minimizing things. John is in a very serious
condition. He is physically and mentally exhausted. I have telephoned for a
nurse. It is too big a job for Alice, willing as she is. I don't want either of you
to disturb John. I don't want anybody to go near him, except the nurse, until
further instructions from me. To speak frankly, any kind of a shock now
would bring on—well, something I don't want to contemplate. It will be a
long hard pull, I can tell you, to bring him around. And I want you both—
and Alice too—to cooperate with me by assuring John absolute quiet during
the next weeks and months."

The two listeners nodded. There was a faint feeling of relief in their
minds that Dr. Hotchkiss had not pronounced matters hopeless and had even
implied that with good fortune and care John might come through
satisfactorily.
 When the medical man had left, Rodrigo prepared to follow him. He
shook hands with Henry Dorning and received the latter's promise to inform
him at once if there was any decided change in John's condition.

"As for continuing the search for Elise—you may use your own
judgment about that," said Henry Dorning. "I suppose John would wish it
pursued with the same zeal. But I leave it to you."

"Very well," Rodrigo replied softly. "I will use—my own judgment."

He drove back to New York at a snail's pace, the speed of his car in
harmony with his thoughts of the long, dreary months of remorse ahead of
him.

The next day Rodrigo tried hard to submerge himself in the numerous
details of business that made up his work and John's with Dorning and Son.
It was the only way now that he could stand by his stricken friend. Mary
Drake was his able lieutenant—a silent, rather impersonal sort of lieutenant,
to be sure, but he could expect nothing different now, he grimly told himself.

An alarming week followed at the Dorning home in Greenwich. For two

or three days John's condition was very bad. There were periods in which he
alternately raved in hysteric delirium and then sank into a coma, recognizing
nobody and sustained by a scarcely detectable heart-beat. In his periods of
delirium he called loudly upon Elise, upon Rodrigo, upon the mother who
had died in his childhood, while the nurse, Alice Pritchard, and Doctor
Hotchkiss labored with physical strength and opiates to quiet him. In that
week, Rodrigo lived through a hundred hells, calling on the telephone every
few hours to receive bulletins that sank his heart anew each time.

At the end of the week he learned from the doctor that John's physical
condition had taken a slight turn for the better. Mentally, however, he was
very bad. Dr. Hotchkiss indicated his fears that, unless the strain were in
some way removed, his young patient's mind might go.

In disposing of the increased business worries placed upon his shoulders

by the absence of John, Rodrigo found unexpectedly efficient assistance in
the person of Max Rosner. For Rodrigo had taken a practical means of