The deployment of manufacturing flexibility as a function of company strategy

Abstract

The flexibility is one of the priorities in manufacturing companies. However, the lack of guidelines for carrying out a critical analysis of the use of resources in manufacturing industry leads to a loss of process performance. This article describes a method to help companies identify the resources needed to provide manufacturing flexibility and meet the demands of their consumers while complying with company strategy. The literature related to flexibility is reviewed and a classification based on four levels is proposed: abilities, dimensions, elements and resources that provide flexibility. Based on this taxonomy and using the principles of QFD (Quality Function Deployment), a method is proposed that shows the correlation between these four levels, starting with customer demand and company strategy. The method was tested in an automobile manufacturing company, showing the applicability of the method. It highlighted the high degree of automation, which’s had serious problems related to restrictions on product mix. It can be inferred that this problem could be minimized by simplifying the tasks involved in the manufacture of car and by hiring more experienced, multi-skilled workers. The proposed method is different from those founded in the literature review because it deploys two levels more of flexibility, considering the QFD structure, and addresses strategic company issues.