The Center for
Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems was
established in 2007 at the University of Texas at San
Antonio (UTSA) to provide the greater San Antonio and south
Texas area industries, public and private agencies with a
one-stop, unique source of expertise in flexible and lean
technologies and systems, state-of-the-art technology
applications with the following two thrust areas:
Advanced Manufacturing
Systems:
effective and efficient integration and synthesis of
automation technologies, human resources, and
decision-making models for design, planning, scheduling, and
control of production of goods and delivery of services.
Lean Enterprise Systems:
systematic
elimination of waste (anything that does not add value)
across the enterprise by using various lean and six-sigma
tools and methodologies to continuously improve value
creating processes in manufacturing and service sectors.
BACKGROUND
The fundamental
motivation in establishing a center of manufacturing
and enterprise excellence at UTSA comes as a
response to the recent rapid growth of San Antonio's
manufacturing base. With strong efforts for
retaining and enhancing Port San Antonio (formerly KellyUSA/Kelly AFB) employment base since 2001, the
more recent Toyota's new truck assembly plant
creating well over 5,000 manufacturing jobs (direct
employment and its suppliers), and Caterpillar's
recent acquisition of a manufacturing facility, San
Antonio's manufacturing sector has been growing
dramatically in the last few years. In addition to
an established presence of major aviation industry
with companies, such as Boeing, Lockheed-Martin,
Pratt & Whitney, Standard Aero, and San Antonio
Aerospace, Inc., San Antonio is also home to
hundreds of manufacturers with fewer than 500
employees. These small-and-medium sized enterprises,
which play a critical role in supporting San
Antonio's economy base, also have urgent needs for
training and education in the areas of advanced
machining, lean manufacturing, and integrated
manufacturing systems.
Motivated by these
developments and San Antonio's further potential
growth in the manufacturing industry,
UTSA has decided to add manufacturing programs
and an interdisciplinary manufacturing center at the
College of Engineering, led by faculty in its
Mechanical Engineering Department.
The
goal of the Center is to
establish a well recognized research platform with unique
expertise in flexible and lean manufacturing technologies
and systems, as well as state-of-the-art sensor
technologies, applied to manufacturing, service and defense
industries, with ample funding from industry and government
agencies.
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The Center is designed to be highly
interdisciplinary with faculty participation from multiple
engineering departments, as well as faculty members from
other colleges/schools, including the College of Business
and the College of Sciences. It provides an excellent
collaborative infrastructure for UTSA faculty to work
closely with industry to address their urgent needs.
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The Center provides a leadership role
in forging close ties with major firms to continue fueling
the economic growth of San Antonio and the South Texas area.
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The Center actively seeks collaboration
with Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio Manufacturers
Association, and UT Health Science Center at San Antonio in
joint research and educational initiatives, especially in
teaming to pursue federal research funding.
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The Center seeks to evolve into a
nationally recognized research center, with strong leverage
from the Center's consortium members with major funding from
federal funding agencies.
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In the long run, the Center in
conjunction with the Mechanical Engineering Department will
facilitate the offering of new interdisciplinary M.S. and
Ph.D. programs in [Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise
Engineering], with participating faculty from Engineering,
Business and Science colleges, after a strong
industry/government consortium and a funded research program
have been well established.
TECHNICAL GOALS
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Facilitate
visibility across all levels of an enterprise
and
the supply
chain.
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Develop
innovative technologies that seamlessly
integrate process elements, such as machinery,
tooling, material, and people, in order to
enhance productivity and reduce waste.
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Provide people
with the right technology in order to make
timely decisions and to add value.
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Adopt a
broader vision on the enterprise; focus on
products, processes, and systems in an
integrated manner.
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Explore
innovative decision-making schemes for
network-enabled environments that rely on
real-time data.
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