Integrated decision making in a flexible assembly system: sensitivity analysis and extended testing

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents the results of sensitivity analysis and e.Mendcd testing for a three-level flexible control strategy (FCS) in an assembly environment. The FCS, which includes product mix flexibility at the system level, product routeing flexibility at the cell level, and product sequencing flexibility at the machine level, is tested under a variety of system characteristics. The effects of lot size, buffer size, set-up times, product mix, process reliability and variability, and various policy interactions are considered. It is demonstrated that the three-level FCS provides robust improvement over assembly systems that do not incorporate the use of flexibility under a wide range of system conditions. This testing effort furthermore provides insight into the question of which system conditions may contribute to FCS effectiveness in general.