Chiang Mai Journal of Science

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Is industry interested in research? Thai manufacturing industry now has a higher capacity utilisation than before the 1997 financial crisis. Continued expansion, most notably in the automotive sector, offers considerable opportunities for the further development of Thai industry. However, to make the most of this situation, manufacturers, especially parts producers, must improve their technical competence and performance since there are a number of threats to their future health.

These include: • More demanding requirements from customers in terms of quality, delivery and price • Competition from China, India and other emerging economies • WTO agreements and globalisation affecting local parts content • Environmental regulations • Rising energy and raw material costs

Unfortunately, many companies, especially SMEs, are attempting to further their business without doing any science and/or technology-based research. This does not just apply to Thailand. As a general observation, industrial management around the world seems only to be interested in production, costs and, in recent times, quality and the environment. The latter two items are the result of "big sticks" wielded respectively by large automotive customers and by legislation, rather than out of any self-generated interest. By and large, the industrial view is:
We want the process to work. We do not want to know why it works, and we do not want to invest in research to find out whyÖ or indeed to make it work better. And anyway, we have not got the time and we can't afford to do any training, let alone do any research or development.
This is perhaps an exaggerated and somewhat unfair view of industry. Maybe more help and encouragement is all that is needed to persuade manufacturers to seek technical improvements in their processes. So how can industry be encouraged to actually analyse their performance and identify the problems that need to be researched and, hence, solved to make continuing improvements, rather than just state somewhere in their quality manual that they do?
One approach that has been used elsewhere is for companies to review and benchmark their performance against competitors. The foundry industry provides an example that is relevant to Thailand since metal castings production is a key support for the automotive and general manufacturing industries. In the foundry case, benchmarking in the US led to the publication of the Metal Casting Industry Roadmap for US Metalcasters and, in the UK, industry and academia were brought together under the Foresight R&D Initiative for the castings industry in order to prioritize areas for foundry research. Such surveys show that the industry is willing to identify and discuss areas where research is needed. However, even in these mature industrial economies, funding becomes another matter since few companies are prepared or can afford to fund an R&D project by themselves.  In many cases, management has to wade through time-consuming fund application procedures to government or other purse-holders, a process which can be very off-putting for SME companies.
In Thailand, industry not only has to deal with such benchmarking and funding exercises but, as a matter of urgency, must also develop its own ìR&D cultureî. Industry here has grown very rapidly but this development has, by and large, resulted from ìbrought-in technologyî from overseas, notably through joint ventures. Hence, a research culture does not yet exist in manufacturing but is hopefully now at the nucleation stage, since the importance of research outside academia does appear to have been recognised by the Thai Government. For example, recent statements from the Industry Ministry stress that OEMs and parts suppliers must do more research.
But what research should be done, who will do it, and who will pay for it?
How can industry get involved in research?
The main need is for manufacturing industry and the "academics" in Thai universities and government research centres to stop being  strangers and to talk to each other. Some co-operation does take place but it needs to move at a much faster pace to enable:
• Industry to gain the full benefits from the equipment and facilities, and from the young postgraduate
   talent in these institutions • Young research people to gain real experience in tackling research projects that are relevant to the
   needs of industry and affect bottom-line performance of Thai companies
Without this interaction, research workers tend to either follow up on something from their postgraduate studies, tackle something out of personal interest, or pick up on a socalled "sexy" topic. In the cast metals case, for one reason or another, foundry research does not appear to be "sexy". This is in spite of the many challenging problems that need to be solved by applying scientific principles to the control of microstructure formation in castings, to the use of ceramics in linings and moulds, to the use of organic and inorganic binders and, especially, to making foundries environmentally friendly.
For their part, manufacturers remain unaware of many of the new science-based tools and techniques, especially in computer simulation and process modeling, and in materials characterisation that could be made available to them via the academic world and that could help solve their current problems or aid future product development. Much wider application must be made of the advanced materials characterisation facilities, such as electron microscopy and microanalysis, that are now available in the Thai university sector, e.g. for research to make more effective use of local raw materials. A continuing area of concern is that, ever since the floating of the Thai Baht, many manufacturers have tried to cut their import costs by the use of raw materials and spare parts from less expensive overseas or home-based sources. This has given rise to a number of quality problems regarding the suitability and consistency of these materials; hence, future use of such materials needs to be more carefully researched.
My experience so far in working with Thai industry is that technical staff and process engineers have very positive attitudes towards making improvements, e.g. via the use of Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and statistical analysis of production data. It is a new experience for many of them to becomeinvolved in analysis and problem-solving aspects.  Their graduate studies have given them science and engineering knowledge coupled with good mathematics and computer ability but have not always provided them with sufficient skill in analytical thinking. Unfortunately, they may not always be able to develop this ability on the job since many manufacturing companies are overseas joint ventures with the process science, technology and control being transplanted as a finished item from a group technical centre in the mother country. The Thai technical graduates in some joint venture companies know what to do but do not always know or understand why it is being done in a certain way. Thus, it is very important for these engineers to interact with the research-trained academics so that both groups can gain from each other in developing solutions to design or production problems and, hence, work as partners on meaningful research projects. Successes on initially small research projects should then encourage more Thai companies to part-fundpostgraduate or contract research at Thai universities. There are certainly research topics (e.g. pollution and waste issues) that are of common interest and importance to manufacturing industry across the Asia-Pacific region. APEC meetings have highlighted the need to strengthen networks between SMEs in the region and the importance of education in promoting business and technical development. Opportunities for SME manufacturing companies to get together with the universities and research institutions across the region to co-operate on R&D projects of mutual interest must be encouraged. Such co-operation would avoid duplication of research efforts and by using the complementary strengths and facilities of individual countries might generate fresh thought and approaches to the solution of manufacturing problems.

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