Simulating the impact of process capability on lot sizes in batch manufacturing

Abstract

Many of the manufacturing systems can be considered as job shops which process products in batches through multiple work centers either for stock or for assembly elsewhere. Typically, such manufacturing systems rely on lot sizing models that primarily use setup costs to determine the batch sizes. While setup costs are important in batch size determination, other factors such as quality of the production process in terms of defectives produced, machine breakdowns and material shortage could also influence the in-process inventory costs and the delivery of the final products to the customers. The various factors that influence work-in-process inventories in batch manufacturing systems will be discussed and a simulation model will be developed. Further, a hypothetical manufacturing system will be simulated to analyze the interactions between the batch sizes and the process capability of the work centers processing these batches.