شبیه سازی تجاری و مدیریت عملیات - یک محیط یادگیری برای صنعت الکترونیک

The Training Factory for the Electronics Industry has been working since 1999. It is a common project of several companies and educational organizations. It is a kind of network project created in conjunction with the Pro Electronica project of Oulu regional centre excellence programme. The purpose of the project has been to create a learning environment where industrial engineering, operations management of entire production line, logistics and business in the electronics industry can be simulated and learned. The history of business simulations in general is more than 40 years long. Since first introduced the development of simulations has been diverse. The main purpose of business games or simulations is to imitate the real decision making process or environment of business. Although some simulations are better and some worse, the method used in all simulations is a form of experiential learning. In the Institute for Management and Technological Training (POHTO) there is long experience of simulations and the method of learning by doing. Green-Power™ is the first generation training factory aimed especially at the process industry. Because of the good experience the second generation training factory – OperEx-Power™ – was constructed to correspond to the specific features of the electronics industry. The main purpose of this article is to present the created participating learning environment in total and describe the managerial functions of OperEx-Power™ connected to production automation. The second goal is to describe the construction process of the environment, based on the Kolb (1984) theory of experiential learning and using a constructive framework. Conclusions are at the end of the review based on experiences from training events.

The growth and development in the electronics industry has been enormous. The technological development is to a large extent based on magnificent and innovative research and development. This sets special strategic requirements for resources, where the amount of capable designers is the scarce resource. In proportion this has caused the need for additional training for capable personnel in product development [1] and [2]. The history of business simulations is more than 40 years long. They were first used in the 1950s in order to intensify the learning experience at the university level. About ten years later simulations were also adopted in business [3]. Thereafter the number and usage of simulations has been growing both in academia and in business. The supply of simulations has been diverse from playing cards and board games to computer aided systems. Some of them have concentrated on production technology, machinery and equipments, marketing, selling, production or on general management enhanced with different additional real life tasks. Although some simulations are better and some worse, the method used in all simulations is a form of experiential learning. Kolb [4] defines learning as the process whereby knowledge is created by the transformation of experience. Business simulations are one form of experiential learning, which often is a very effective way of learning. In many simulations the experience is a dynamic one in which a series of problems are presented or decisions have to be taken [5]. Reflection and evaluation after the simulation experience form an important part of the exercise. Green-Power™ is the first generation training factory in the Institute for Management and Technological Training in Finland Oulu. It is literally based on learning by doing, because products that are going to be sold have to be actually processed in the factory. It is especially aimed at the process industry and it has been in active use since 1992. Based on years of successful training experience in the process factory the second generation training factory – OperEx-Power™ – was constructed to correspond to the specific features of the electronics industry. OperEx-Power™ contains managerial and operative decision making for research and development, purchasing, sales and order handling, production planning, finance and a real manufacturing surface mounted device (SMD) process. The main purpose of this article is to present the created participating learning environment in total and describe the managerial functions connected to production automation. The second goal is to describe the construction process of the training factory and OperEx-Power™ system, based on Kolb's [4] theory of experiential learning and using a constructive framework. The conclusions are at the end of the article based on experience from the early training events.

One of the greatest challenges, and a threat at the same time, to organizations under great development pressure, are the scarce resources. Because of the shortage of competent personnel, several pieces of equipment, products and systems cannot be developed, manufactured and sold. This is even emphasised because of the short life cycles of products. Managing product development may be one possible solution, because the scarce resources have to be divided into several projects concerning several products. OperEx-Power™ as a learning environment, creates the possibility to run a business or simulation in a boom, as several companies in the electronics industry are today. As a consequence of the boom, short life cycle and scarce resources, the difficulty to direct personnel into the most critical tasks comes up. Based on feedback from training using OperEx-Power™, critical features come up and it could be said that the simulation successfully reflects real aspects of the electronics industry. These simulations have been done with the people operating in the business of the electronics industry. The homelike environment is even emphasized, because of the case story (cost structure, balance sheet, products core processes and so on) in the background of the simulation can be adopted from the specific company or organization. During the simulation one hour equals one year, which makes the event even more hectic. This is also the situation in the fast-developing electronics industry, where you must get your product development finished at the right time or you have lost your market share. The company must also handle fast growth. It is often expressed in feedback that the simulation really shows the need for co-operation between different functions and it widens one's perspective about what is each function's role in a company. The reality in the first level in the training factory is very high because the machinery and equipment are similar to that used in the industry. Therefore, compared to other simulations OperEx-Power™ has gone at least one step further than the usual games or simulations. It also has some specified activity in every function not just investing certain amount of money. I.e. in R&D resources has to be allocated accurately to a specific task and product, not just invest money in R&D. Also in purchasing the right components have to be in the factory as planned in the schedule and they have to be supplied to the production line in order to manufacture products. One of the best features in the OperEx-Power™ system is that it can be configured for the specific figures and features of a specific company. This is also the critical and operose part, because the system needs to be reconfigured for new simulations if different ones are needed but, however, there is the possibility to do it. The open system is good on one hand, because it allows the game manger to be creative, but on the other hand it requires quite a lot at the same time, because there are several tasks to be done during the simulation. I.e. the unexpected incidents in the electronics industry have been simulated with game manager intervention. For instance employees (designers in R&D) may suddenly leave the company and change to a competitor firm. Another significant, but demanding educational possibility is to emphasize the simulation towards the needs of the target group in question. I.e. the possibilities in the financial client can be used on a wide scale, if needed. The feedback has been good in many respects, but the learning environment is not final or complete. A lot of work can and will be done in order to improve and intensify the learning experiences in the factory. The open and flexible system allows easy development of the system further as needed. As stated in the name of this article the training factory for the electronics industry is a learning environment where learning is done by doing. The learning environment in question is only one solution or possibility to intensify learning in difficult managerial competences. Experience gained, however, point out that these competences can be taught and learning by doing is one good possibility.