The techno-craft paradigm is the socio-technical counterpart to the custom-craft paradigm. It is illustrated in Figure 1.4(e). The techno-craft paradigm is a new frontier in quality that seeks to emulate the custom-craft paradigm in performance, but reduce the cost and the delivery time. The techo-craft paradigm is possible through the proper integration of people, machines and automation. We have seen techo-craft paradigm in industries such as apparel and software development. In the future most of the customer products, such as shoes, clothing, etc., which must 'fit' the users in order to function at their best, will emerge at competitive prices. In the techno-craft paradigm, customers get exactly what they want. A high level of flexibility in product design and process flexibility is necessary to make this paradigm feasible. Computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing technology, along with automated and integrated measuring machines, make the techno-craft paradigm a reality.
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