Towards the development of an advanced manufacturing technology implementation tool for small companies

This paper describes the development of a concept for an advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) implementation tool that specifically addresses small company requirements. The tool is produced in response to the implementation experiences of twelve small companies and recognises that such companies do not have access to the sophisticated investment decision making processes available to large companies. In working towards the development of this tool, this paper covers the benefits that the case-study companies have achieved as a result of AMT and talks about the barriers that these companies have had to overcome to access such benefits. The critical factors that informed the development of the implementation tool were drawn from this analysis of positive and negative impacts.