Production Engineering and Operations Management MSc

Course overview

The overall aim of the course is to advance your abilities within the area of production engineering and operations management so you can assist manufacturing companies to meet these demands head-on – achieving competitive advantage and making an impact on profits and sustainability.

• We will encourage you to evaluate engineering design and process choices around materials, production technologies and production processes. You will then have the opportunity to design solutions to complex production engineering and operations management problems using 3D computer solid modelling and the latest industry-standard software, interfacing with current leading production machines.
• You will be required to study many of the more popular approaches being used to improve manufacturing processes with a view to making companies more productive and cost-efficient, namely lean and agile manufacturing.
• We also aim to cover some of the latest industry trends around automation techniques, including various robot types, robot programming, programmable logic controllers, sensors, vision systems, motion control, safety systems, and design for manufacture. You will have the opportunity to gain practical experience in online and offline robot programming.
• You will have the option to apply for a ‘professional work placement’ opportunity², designed to further develop your skills and knowledge with the aim of maximising your employability prospects. See modules for more information.

Why you should study this course

• A distinct advantage of our course is its vocational nature. We use real-life case studies and examples from local and regional industries, including automotive, aerospace, mechanical and engineering services and their supply chain.
• You may have opportunities to access the facilities of the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME), which can enable you to put your learning into practice, working on actual problems in collaboration with Unipart to find solutions to current and emerging industrial challenges⁴.
• Teaching is informed by our strong portfolio of industrial research. Many of our academics come from an industrial background and are research active, engaged either in their own individual research area or as part of one of the University’s research institutes (Please note staff may be subject to change).
• Our industry connections may enable us to deliver a programme of exciting guest speakers, which in the past have included speakers from the BSI (British Standards Institution), Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce and others from within the UK supply chain (guest speakers are subject to availability).
• Your studies will be split between our Engineering and Computing buildings and the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME), based at Unipart’s Coventry site. You can experience the latest technology on the manufacturing front line, which includes £3m of robotic automation, forming, joining, analysis and simulation, metrology and product verification technology⁴.
• You will have the chance to learn to identify opportunities for the application of new materials and processes and evaluate appropriate production control systems. At the same time, you can develop the skills to assess manufacturing issues with regard to strategic and financial implications, as well as work effectively in a team environment.

Careers and opportunities

Upon successful completion, you will have knowledge of:

• The evaluation of current and emerging materials and their associated manufacturing processes and technologies.
• The optimisation of production engineering and production operations management using appropriate mathematical, statistical and simulation methods, recognising the limitations of these methods.
• The critical appreciation of the engineering and management challenges in global production operations including the ethical, legal, social, environmental and economic constraints.
• The systematic understanding of digital manufacturing technologies and approaches and the impact that digital artefacts and digital data has on the competitiveness of manufacturing environments.

You will be able to:

• Formulate innovative solutions to real-world problems and challenges with incomplete data through an ability to synthesise current and leading-edge knowledge.
• Evaluate the limitations of current and emerging products and technologies against both technical as well as commercial constraints.
• Design creative solutions to current and emergent problems by taking a holistic technical and non-technical perspective, including commercial and sustainability concepts.
• Apply appropriate engineering analysis methods for solving complex problems within production operations management, recognising any limitations and commercial and industrial constraints.
• Critically appraise how new knowledge is generated within production engineering and production operations management.

On successful completion of this course, you should have developed as a manufacturing engineer and increased your knowledge of the application of technology and developed your business and management skills. You could go on to pursue a successful career in manufacturing industry in roles, which typically include manufacturing engineering, process planning, production planning, quality, systems improvement, projects and operations management.