EMERGING TRENDS IN PROCESS

TECHNOLOGY
(PROCESS TECHNOLOGY)

Prepared by:
AKSHAY MOHANAN
 EMERGING TRENDS IN PROCESS
TECHNOLOGY

Markets seems to be demanding both greater flexibility and lower cost

simultaneously from process technology. In effect with emerging scalability ,
analytical content and connectivity characteristics have enabled process
technologies to enhance their flexibility while still retaining reasonable
efficiency and vice versa.

In other words , these trends in process technology are having net effect of
overcoming some of the traditional trade-off inherent within the dimensions
of process technology.
 EMERGING TRENDS IN PROCESS
TECHNOLOGY
• The three dimensions of process technology – scale , automation and
coupling are related to the volume/variety characteristics of the market. In
traditional process technologies, especially those with relatively little IT
element, large, automated and tightly coupled technologies were capable
of processing at low cost but had relatively little flexibility. This made them
suitable for high-volume , low variety process. If process requirements
were of high variety but low volume process technology is likely to consist
of smaller separated units with relatively little automation.
• Trends in the development of each dimensions of process technology,
especially those related to their increasing richness in information
processing, are overcoming some of the traditional trade-offs within each
dimensions. In particular, technology with high levels of scalability can give
advantages of flexible, small-scale technology and yet to be quickly
expanded if demand warranted it.
 EMERGING TRENDS IN PROCESS
TECHNOLOGY
• Similarly even high-volume information processing technology can still
display the relatively high analytical content at one time reserved for more
manual processes. Finally , technology with high connectivity can integrate
processes without the rigidity one associated with high coupling.

• Market trends are themselves calling for simultaneously high performance

in both cost and flexibility. No longer is it acceptable to suffer high cost if
flexibility is demanded by the market, nor operations rigidity costs need to
be kept low, as far as market requirements are concerned, the ideal area
in the traditional product-process matrix is one delivers both low cost and
high flexibility.
 EMERGING TRENDS IN PROCESS
TECHNOLOGY

This is why information process technology has such an impact in so many

industries. In effect it has partially overcome some of the traditional trade-
offs in choosing process technology. There are still trade-offs within the
technology choice even if they are not as obvious as they were once.
Moreover, information processing and computing power has undoubtedly
had a major impact on almost all technologies but there are still limits to
what computers can do.
Figure shows Market pressure are requiring
operations to be both flexible and low cost
 Figure shows new developments in process
technology can change the cost-flexibility trade-offs