Automation in quality control and maintenance

Industry is changing rapidly, and with it the functions of quality control and maintenance. Automation is only one aspect of this change, so that the context for these two functions needs to be established if we are to see how they will evolve in the future. Whether the industry is manufacturing, transportation, or service, the changes are similar, because both the competitive pressures and the hardware controlling the automation are similar. For example, over the past 20 years the percentage of U.S. companies facing direct foreign competition in their home market has risen from approximately 20% to 80%. Thus, we need to examine system boundaries and functions in a number of industries if we are to see the broad changes in sufficient detail to be useful.