A method for the hierarchical planning of the structure, dimension and material requirements of manufacturing systems

Abstract

Growing competition creates pressure among companies to run their production in a cost-optimal way and yet adapt immediately to changes in their environmental conditions. Decisions must always consider the integration of the companies in globalised markets on both the demand and supply side. This paper deals with the optimal planning of decisions concerning the structure and dimension of production facilities. The methods used for material requirements planning are selected and configured according to these decisions. These decision problems are represented in the form of four hierarchically layered partial models, each of them realised and iteratively solved by a mathematical optimisation model. The hierarchical planning method is evaluated using a practical case example based on a valve production system of a manufacturing company.

Keywords:

• activity based costing
• design of experiments
• design for manufacture
• availability
• capability indices
• computer vision
• control charts
• robotics

Notes

Notes

1. In a consumption-oriented strategy, orders are triggered only by the current inventory level, and in a demand-oriented strategy, orders are triggered by the (planned) production programme.

2. The case example presented here draws from a case study conducted when carrying out this research. While the production structure and associated data are drawn from the case study, some estimations and approximations had to be made. Some of the data have intentionally been altered in order to respect the confidentiality of the company and certain sensitive data. However, these alterations did not have an effect on the results, which appropriately reflect the outcome obtained with the original data.