Re-engineering tool management and control systems

In most businesses, the management and control of tooling is often over-looked. This paper presents a new approach based on systems engineering. It enables the managers to eliminate bad tool management and control practices through re-engineering. The role of tooling in modern manufacturing facilities are discussed and its effects on the major considerations of the business are highlighted. The results from an industrial survey is presented to illustrate the nature, the scale and the extent of the tooling problems. The way the collated data was analysed to identify generic failure modes is also given. The shortcomings of traditional tool rationalisation exercises are identified and a new approach based on systems engineering is presented