| The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of correlation between four-year ABET/MET competencies and company demographics of plant location and plant size and usage of manufacturing technologies, and to determine the overall rating per SIC classification of validated MET competencies. This purpose is reflective of the literature, which indicated that there is a need for further development of manufacturing engineering technology competencies to meet the industry needs of a region or state.;A questionnaire was used to collect data. It was mailed to 440 randomly selected practicing manufacturing engineers in North Carolina. The sample size was 50. The study had a response rate of 11.4%. One hundred thirty-seven MET competencies were dependent variables. Independent variables were number of employees at the work site, utilization of a spectrum of manufacturing technologies, and plant location.;Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Windows SPSS and the level of significance was set at .05. Four procedures were used to analyze the data: (a) linear regression (F-ratios, r-square, beta coefficients, t-test); (b) Pearson's correlation; (c) point biserial correlation; and (d) descriptive statistics.;Significant correlation existed between plant size large and competency category 3-Manufacturing Processes, and between plant size grouped data and competency category 5, Controls. These were the only two tail independent variables which had significant correlation and t-test statistics, indicating their association with the perceptions of respondents regarding important MET competencies. Competencies 3, 5, 7, and 8 (Manufacturing Processes, Controls, Liberal Studies, and Capstone Courses) had significant one tail directional correlation with grouped plant size data. One tail directional correlation existed between competency 3-Manufacturing Processes and medium plant size, and between competency 3-Manufacturing Processes and large plant size.;Five percent of the 137 entry-level MET competencies were considered as "extremely important" by manufacturing engineers, 67% were considered "very important," 27% as "important," and the remaining odd percentages as "minimally" and "not important." The 137 competencies are grouped into major heading categories. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of competencies on a 1--5 scale. The overall competency category ranked importance from rated competencies are from highest to lowest (1) Capstone Courses, (2) Design for Production, (3) Liberal Studies, (4) Manufacturing Management/Quality Productivity, (5) Manufacturing Processes, (6) Manufacturing Systems and Automation, (7) Control, and (8) Materials. |
