Systems Engineering in the Glass Industry

A survey of current trends of systems engineering in the glass industry is presented. The central theme is that systems engineering is the technique through which the process of our time¿the information revolution exemplified by the digital computer¿is exerting its impact on the industry. Systems engineering is examined and basic concepts reviewed, and the production system is defined as a pyramidal, hierarchical structure. Process models which have been developed primarily for control purposes are reviewed; examples of theoretically or experimentally developed models are given. In computer control applications, a major trend is seen toward extensive integrated real-time information-processing systems consisting of several computers connected through a communication network. The development of the human components in the production system, particularly management structure, is considered as an essential aspect of the overall system development.