Duncan McFarlane
Papers
6
Total Citations
90
H-Index
5
About
Duncan McFarlane is a leading authority in manufacturing systems engineering, with his research centered on reconfigurability, distributed control, and the economic impact of automation. He has pioneered methods for assessing and enhancing the flexibility of manufacturing operations, most notably through the application of the Design Structure Matrix (DSM) to evaluate system reconfigurability—a contribution that has garnered over 33 citations and remains foundational in the field. His work on multi-agent systems for collaborative autonomous manufacturing, cited 20 times, has advanced the development of robust, real-time software architectures for demanding environments like remote space operations. More recently, McFarlane has turned his attention to the economic dimensions of automation, co-authoring influential studies on the relationship between robot adoption and profit margins. His 2023 paper, with 11 citations, reveals a nuanced U-shaped dynamic where initial adoption depresses margins before enabling differentiation and recovery. This work, along with his explorations of low-cost digital manufacturing and human-robot interaction, demonstrates a career-long commitment to bridging technical innovation with practical, economically sustainable outcomes.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2
- 3A TOOL FOR ASSESSING RECONFIGURABILITY OF DISTRIBUTED MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS18 citations · 2006
- 4The Effect of Robot Adoption on Profit Margins11 citations · 2023
- 5An Application of HRI in Low-Cost Digital Manufacturing6 citations · 2020
- 6Robot Adoption and Profitability: The Opportunities and Challenges Ahead2 citations · 2024