| Manufacturing
Manufacturing
(from Latin manu factura, "making by hand") is
the use of tools and labour to make things for use or sale.
The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft
to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial
production, in which raw materials are transformed into
finished goods on a large scale.
Manufacturing takes place under all types of economic systems.
In a free market economy, manufacturing is usually directed
toward the mass production of products for sale to consumers
at a profit. In a collectivist economy, manufacturing is
more frequently directed by the state to supply a centrally
planned economy. In free market economies, manufacturing
occurs under some degree of government regulation.
Modern manufacturing includes all intermediate processes
required for the production and integration of a product's
components. Some industries, such as semiconductor and steel
manufacturers use the term fabrication instead.The manufacturing
sector is closely connected with engineering and industrial
design.
The
manufacturing industry employs people with a range of skill
levels. They include operatives, who carry out routine but
vital roles, skilled craftspeople, technicians and technologists.
The manufacturing sector also employs professional engineers,
designers, scientists and creative craft workers, among
others, and the details of some of these roles are included
in other Job Families.
Working hours vary between industries, but are usually around
40 hours per week. A number of jobs involve shift work and
some can be part time. Most manufacturing takes place in
clean, modern conditions, but some is carried out in conditions
that can be hot, noisy or dusty. Work may be carried out
in large factories that are airy and full of noisy production
lines, or in small workshops that make specialised items.
Operatives and craftspeople should have practical hand skills
for using tools and machinery. Technicians and technologists
require not only practical skills, but also scientific understanding
and good technical knowledge of the particular industry.
Engineering
Engineering
is the discipline and profession of applying scientific
knowledge and utilising natural laws and physical resources
in order to design and implement materials, structures,
machines, devices, systems, and processes that realise a
desired objective and meet specified criteria.
One
who practices Engineering is called an Engineer, and those
licensed to do so may have more formal designations such
as Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineer, or Incorporated
Engineer. The broad discipline of engineering encompasses
a range of more specialised sub disciplines, each with a
more specific emphasis on certain fields of application
and particular areas of technology.
Electronics
Electronics
deals with the flow of charge through various materials
and devices such as semiconductors, resistors, inductors,
capacitors, nano-structures and vacuum tubes. Although considered
to be a theoretical branch of physics, the design and construction
of electronic circuits to solve practical problems is an
essential technique in the fields of electronic engineering
and computer engineering.
The field of Manufacturing, Engineering & Electronics
is huge and encompasses a wide range of industries, including: |
