Organizational integration of flexible manufacturing systems in conventional workshop structures

Abstract

Increasing demands for more flexibility within mechanical engineering companies have led to the steadily growing importance of flexible manufacturing technology. The initial phase of this development was marked by investment in flexible manufacturing technology especially in large companies. In recent years less capital-intensive solutions have widened the range of potential users to include medium-sized firms. The close integration of flexible manufacturing systems with conventional workshop structures demands a fundamental reorganization of existing control and organizational structures in one-off and small series production. Therefore it is important to increase the exploitation of the flexibility potential of FMS as well as the potential for their autonomous operation. As essential prerequisite is that the system should be decoupled from centralized, prescriptive and unresponsive production planning and control systems. In line with the requirement for closed-loop rather than open-loop control of production, requirements for • • decentralization of production planning and control functions, • • a switch from successive to simultaneous planning concepts and • • dispersal of central departments have to be taken into account by using the measures described in the paper. In order to fulfill these requirements it is necessary to link the production planning and control system with the FMS on the one hand and the conventional production areas on the other hand.