An assessment of GRAI Grids and their use in the strathclyde integration method

The purpose of this paper is to present a critical assessment of GRAI Grids as a tool for improved manufacturing integration. GRAI Grids, a key component of the GRAI approach, form an integral part of the Strathclyde Integration Method (SIM) for manufacturing integration. The contribution of the paper is thus to provide a 'third party' view of the effectiveness of GRAI Grids as a modelling tool. The paper presents a brief overview of the GRAI approach, concentrating particularly on the Grids, and an overview of SIM, showing how GRAI Grids are used. The main section of the paper presents an assessment and critique of GRAI Grids. Several benefits and limitations of the Grid (as used in SIM) and some suggestions for extensions are presented. The paper concludes that the use of the GRAI Grid, within a methodology, provides a unique insight into the behaviour and design of manufacturing information systems and that those who criticize the technique perhaps do so from a lack of awareness of its concepts, principles and advantages.