CONTROLLING MATERIAL AND WORKER FLOW INMANUFACTURING CELLS

摘要

Unit load size, work-in-process levels, worker cross-training, location of storage areas,rnand job dispatching rules all interact to determine how quickly and efficiently productionrnjobs flow through a serial production system. Cycle time can be reduced by movingrnmaterial in small transfer lots at the expense of increasing the number of materialrnhandling moves. Cross-training of workers can substitute for buffer inventories betweenrnworkstations. We discuss these tradeoffs in a flow shop environment where workers arernresponsible for both machine operation and material handling. The discussion isrnmotivated by the need to understand the impact of the operational policies used in cellularrnmanufacturing and Just-in-time environments.