Systems Concepts and Technological Change in Process Manufacture
July 18th, 1994
Paper to the Second Technology Transfer and Innovation Conference, Queen Elizabeth II Hall, London, 18th-20th July 1994.
S F Bush
Introduction
This paper develops the concept of system in ways which provide a mental structure of assistance in deciding what technological targets are worth pursuing in process manufacture. Two classes of technological change are distinguished. The first is termed a structural change in which a process or its product, or both, are fundamentally redesigned, needing major new capital investment and for products, new marketing effort. The second class of technological change is termed incremental, where changes are made to a process or product, or both, which do not alter the basic features of either. It is a major theme of this paper that while structural changes in product or process technology have tended to engage the minds of the most scientifically literate of academic researchers, there are today, in many cases, greater returns potentially available from incremental changes, if only academic involvement can be properly managed. This paper is not concerned with what may be termed curiosity research for which there is no application in mind, but which may subsequently stimulate applications goals.
In order to assess the financial returns arising from research it is necessary to have a way of assessing its economic potential as well as assessing its cost. Proposals for this are made in section 3. Examples and data to illustrate the major themes of the paper are taken from the author’s own work in the chemicals, polymers, food and fibres fields. Section 4 gives examples of structural innovation, while section 5 gives examples of incremental innovation. While it is thought that many of the concepts may be more generally applicable, the data used and the specific motivation are for manufacturing processes in which the materials are converted from one form to another in the fluid state.