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Programme summary

1. Programme Aims

• The aim of this programme is to provide post graduate education and experience in the field of manufacturing technologies and their management.
• This is intended to provide the basis for effective careers as technologists and managers who can meet the challenges of rapidly changing global manufacturing industries

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

Benchmark statements for Engineering.

Industry input to steer programme content and delivery has been through an Industrial Liaison Committee which meets annually.

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The generic nature of design and the phases and activities within the overall design process.
• The role of human mental processes in design.
• The relationships between design manufacturing and commerce and the principles of new product development.
• Management and business practices (including finance, design management and quality).
• Basic company accounting.
• Sustainable development, environmental legislation, resource conservation and design for the environment in a company context.
• Design and programming of CNC machine tools.
• Manufacturing system layouts.
• Manufacturing control systems.
• The organizational aspects of manufacturing systems
• The modern global enterprise and its organisation.
• The effect of national culture upon business performance.
• IT infrastructure for global operation and the virtual enterprise.
• The principles of Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Tooling, and Rapid Manufacture; their applications and limitations.
• The role and limitations of integrated software support systems for product design.
• The capabilities of Product Data Technology.
• Lean and agile operations’ philosophies.
• Six sigma systems.
• Modern distribution systems.
• Demand management.
• Team management techniques and practices.
• The role and limitations of integrated software support systems for product design
• The influence of characteristic spatial- and time scales within manufacturing systems
• The physics of manufacturing systems
• Techniques appropriate for modeling the physics- and organizational aspects of manufacturing systems
• Knowledge integration issues within manufacturing systems
• Types of advanced automation systems, along with the relative merits of different systems and their lifecycle support.
• The appropriate methods for analysis and optimisation of laser processing.
• Design and programming for computer numerical control.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Appreciate the broad range of influences and activities within the design process and explain their significance.
• Evaluate technical and commercial risk and make decisions based on available information.
• Identify solutions to engineering problems from a sustainability/environmental standpoint.
• Evaluate machine tool designs.
• Design manufacturing cells/systems for new/existing products.
• Specify and implement a manufacturing system.
• Create an appropriate organisation for global business.
• Select on the basis of application and limitations, the most appropriate “rapid” technology.
• Evaluate the most appropriate software to support concurrent engineering activity.
• Specify and design an appropriate lean/agile business or distribution system.
• Evaluate mass-customisation systems.
• Identify the physical principles underpinning various manufacturing processes, select appropriate modeling techniques and identify the resulting information flows
• Select manufacturing processes to achieve required product/component attributes
• Propose and justify methods for the integration of manufacturing processes within a higher level manufacturing system based on required information flows
• Use fundamental knowledge to investigate new and emerging manufacturing technologies

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of the programme, students should be able to: 

• Use the design process to plan and carry out projects.
• Plan and implement reorganisation of a company for increased effectiveness.
• Select and conduct experimental procedures to support analysis.
• Generate new ideas and develop and evaluate a range of solutions.
• Programme various automation systems.
• Use some of the various rapid prototyping systems and processes.
• Use appropriate CAE techniques to generate tooling.
• Use modern information modelling techniques for decision support systems.
• Design in detail a lean and/or agile business system.
• Given the required product/component attributes, propose and justify the key elements of an appropriate manufacturing system.

c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

• Plan and monitor multi-disciplinary projects.
• Appreciate the central role of design within engineering.
• Communicate effectively and make presentations of a technical/business nature to achieve maximum impact.
• Identify methods to assist in innovation, teamworking and engineering communication.
• Demonstrate competence in using computer based engineering techniques.
• Analyse and understand complex engineering problems.
• Use teamworking skills.
• Explain the integration of lean/agile systems.

4. Programme structure

  4.1. The modules comprising the programme are: 

4.1.1 The School reserves the right to withdraw or make amendments to the list of subjects at the beginning of each session. 

4.1.2  Students may exchange any of the normal modules with modules from another Programme with the agreement of the Postgraduate Programme Director.

4.2 Projects

The taught modules are normally prerequisites for the Project module, which is an individual project under the direction of a supervisor nominated by the Programme Director.

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

5.1 In order to be eligible for the award, candidates must satisfy the requirements of Regulation XXI.

5.2 Provision will be made in accordance with Regulation XXI Postgraduate Awards for candidates who have the right of re-examination to undergo re-assessment in the University’s special assessment period.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification