Operations Management

The manufacturing industry is one of the many industries growing fast in technology advancement to meet the requirements and demand of the new generation population in the world. Manufacturing technology provides the tools that enable production of all manufactured goods. Manufacturing technology provides the productive tools that power a growing, stable economy and a rising standard of living.

Technological advance is the major factor in the creation of higher paying and more productive jobs. Moreover, technological advance is critical to achieving the greater product variety, quality and customization which has an ever more pervasive impact on the competitive position of nations and firms.

e-Manufacturing is a collaborative Web-centric manufacturing that involves real-time data with trading partners and customers and making collaborative decisions about production based on that data. In order to collaborate, information must be converted into electronic form, protocols for communication must be established, and an infrastructure must be in place for connectivity with customers, suppliers and partners. Rather than producing high volumes of standard products, in anticipation of demand, e-manufacturing uses real-time information on customers' orders and productive capacity across the supply chain to speed customized products directly to the customer.

1.1.1 Biotechnology field

Molecular Imaging

This early 21st century discipline is a new and innovative technological imaging system originating from the radio-pharmacology field that enables the visualization of the cellular function and the follow-up of the molecular process in living organisms without agitating them. This imaging system is applicable to the diagnosis of diseases like cancer, neurological and cardiovascular diseases.

Molecular imaging differs from the traditional imaging methods which primarily imaged differences in qualities such as density or water content, in that probes known as biology markers (biomarkers) are used to help image particular targets or pathways. These biomarkers interact chemically with the surroundings and in turn alter the image according to molecular changes.

Molecular imaging may allow discovery of a "pre-disease state" in a patient when the first genomic and proteomic missteps in a pathway or cascade of events occur. Molecular imaging stands to show, in ways not previously possible, the dynamic underlying causes of disease while providing better treatment monitoring.

Molecular imaging technologies provide information about the functional or metabolic characteristics of malignancies, tumor stage and therapeutical response, and tumor recurrence; whereas conventional imaging technologies predominantly assess the tumor's anatomical or morphologic features including its size, density, shape, etc

1.1.2 Cell phone manufacturing

With the introduction of smart-phones (phone/personal digital assistance), cell phone manufacturing is reaching its peak and manufactures are now able to offer customers cell phones based on their needs.

There was an estimated to be 1.5 billion mobile phone users in the world (Prensky, 2004).

Advances in fiber optics—very thin strands of glass that transmit light and data much more efficiently than wires and cables—not only improved the quality of voices transmitted over phone lines but also made high-volume phone traffic possible.

Manufacturers have introduced a full touch screen phone that uses solar energy to recharge the battery of the cell phone. This advanced battery is environmentally friendly and does not require electricity to charge and it's always powered with energy all the time.

In telecommunications, 4G (fourth generation) is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards, and it is based on the speed of the internet and it's expected to be a faster service at 100 Mbit/s, compared to the previous generations.

Bluetooth 3.0

Manufactures have created phones