Sociotechnical Evaluation of Alternative and Innovative Shop Floor Control Systems

J Slomp

doi:10.13189/ujm.2017.050305

Abstract

In this paper we present a sociotechnical evaluation of three new, and alternative shop floor control systems used in high-variety/low-volume part manufacturing. The three alternative systems concerns the application of (i) POLCA, a card-based system to connect semi-autonomous cells, (ii) LPC (Lean Production Control), a detailed scheduling system to guide the flow of work in a low-volume/high-variety system, and (iii) the CONWIP/FISFOS/TAKT system, a system which limits the amount of work at the workfloor and only indicates priorities on job order level. We show how sociotechnical principles can be used to assess alternative shop floor control concepts. Concurrently, we discuss workplace innovation by means of the alternative shop floor control systems.

Highlights

This paper concerns a sociotechnical assessment of some innovative shop floor control systems used in high-variey/low-volume part manufacturing
We argue that sociotechnical principles can be used for selecting an appropriate shop floor planning & control system
The three alternative systems are: POLCA, a card-based system to connect semi-autonomous cells; LPC (Lean Production Control), a detailed scheduling system to guide the flow of work in a low-volume/high-variety system; The CONWIP/FISFOS/TAKT system, a system which limits the amount of work at the workfloor and only indicates priorities on job order level

Summary

Introduction

This paper concerns a sociotechnical assessment of some innovative shop floor control systems used in high-variey/low-volume part manufacturing. It is difficult to balance the load on the workfloor such that short and reliable delivery times are realized, in an efficient way This is the reason why there is so much research in the area of job scheduling and interest in practice for shop floor control systems. We will illustrate the applicability of the principles by evaluating three innovative and alternative shop floor planning and control systems, successfully applied in practice. A well-known list of socio-technical design principles, which supports the idea of self-organization, is given by Cherns ([2] and [3]). We apply the concise list of principles, formulated by Cherns [3] to compare three new and innovative shop floor control systems.

Support congruence

Design process Design process

Evaluating the Three Production Control Systems

Discussion and Conclusions