The proposed research involves exploration of the feasibility of developing a methodology for considering the potential organizational impact of the technical design decisions made in implementing automated manufacturing systems. First, a generalizable typology of critical design decisions will be developed. Then, categories of design decisions that are likely to cause organizational changes will be identified and the range of design options will be examined. Finally, a matrix of typology of technical options vs. organizational impacts will be developed, to identify which types of options are critical in terms of their impact on the organization. The study will examine the technical design process of a robot line in a machine shop at Xerox Corp., Apple Corporation's automated insertion machines, and John Deere's FMS cells. From these three very different types of automation design, a set of generalizable results are expected to be drawn.
