CIM-EUROPE 1992 is a record of the conference on Computer-Integrated Manufacturing held in Birmingham in May 1992 in which researchers, practitioners and decision makers in the CIM field were brought together. Altogether it comprises 44 papers by contributors mainly from Europe but also from the USA, China and Japan. The papers of this proceedings cover various European and international projects on the application and development of CIM worldwide and in special industries. The focus is placed on results and benefits. Readers will find this book helpful for the planning of their own CIM initiatives as it provides a unique opportunity to learn of the views of industry, research centres and universities.

Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) allows the integration of current islands of automation and the exploitation of opportunities offered by the application of information technology. More than 40 key papers have been assembled from the CIM-Europe's seventh annual conference held in May 1991, Turin, Italy. The speakers represent the leading edge research in areas such as concurrent engineering, production planning and control, quality management and e.g. implementation and business experiences in applying CIM. CIM-Europe is the dissemination of ESPRIT and the conference is jointly sponsored by the CEC and organised under the patronage of the Ministero della UniversitA e della Ricerca Scientifica e Technologica and CittA di Torino. Engineers, academics and researchers in CIM and related fields will find the book excellent reference material for current research and experience.

The impact of CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) on the competitiveness of industry is nowadays well acknowledged. Significant increases in productivity, reduction of production costs and the ability to modify operations quickly are amongst the gains made when applying CIM technologies. The integration of automation islands and the application of information technology throughout manufacturing and engineering environments constitute key tasks for European industry. ESPRIT (European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) is a pre-competitive industry-oriented collaborative research and development programme in information technology. The programme is managed and co-funded by the European Community and is organised in close liaison with industry, national administ rations and the research Community. ESPRIT has the following three objectives: - To provide the European information technology industry with the basic technologies to meet the competitive requirements of the 1990s; - To promote European industrial cooperation in information technology; - To pave the way for standards. The CIM part of the ESPRIT programme addresses the application of information technology in industrial environments. CIM-Europe is an information and awareness activity of ESPRIT. Its aim is to consolidate and enhance the effects of ESPRIT CIM by disseminating information on progress and achievements in the programme. It stimulates interaction between project teams in CIM and other areas, encouraging the development and the application of CIM techniques to the benefit of European industry. CIM-Europe's main activities are meetings (Study Groups, Workshops and its Annual Conference) and publications (Notices and Proceedings) ."