Evaluating the presence of alternative resources in process planning to improve the performance of manufacturing systems

Abstract

Usually the process plans are generated without considering the use of alternative machines, i.e., in conventional process planning a single machine is selected for the execution of a particular operation. Consequently, the machines that are preferred by process planners are selected to perform most tasks, leading to the formation of bottlenecks in production. In this context, the inclusion of alternative machines in process plans can be used as a strategy to solve the bottleneck formation problem, since the possible unavailability of a machine allows another preplanned machine to be selected and used immediately. In order to evaluate this proposal, a model was developed to simulate a manufacturing system subject to both types of process plans, i.e., with or without alternative machines. It was found that the inclusion of alternative machines for plans process results in improved performance of the manufacturing system with regard to productivity, work-in-process, and machine utilization, even if the selected alternate machine has lower efficiency.