Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)Consistent with the automotive industry, other highly technological industries have discovered the value of implementing lean manufacturing operations. In today’s economy, companies are realizing that controlling and minimizing manufacturing cost is a requirement for a successful business. Businesses are hiring the help of consulting companies to implement better manufacturing techniques. However, more often than not, these businesses struggle with the actual implementation due to the underlying disturbances in the current production floor. These disturbances range from demand balance issues to the more complex quality defects.
The goal of this study is to provide a theoretical framework, analysis and simulation of the disturbances in a mixed-model manufacturing production system. Mixed-model production systems employ a single set of resources to manufacture multiple product lines, giving room to a complex set of production issues which are often hard to visualize. This thesis simulates the production floor of a company with a single mixed-model production system that assembles three highly technological, complex engineering, multi-configuration products such as automotive engines.
A discrete event simulation model was used to manipulate the disruptions on the production system. The real manufacturing performance was used to verify and validate the model. Individual modification of the disturbances revealed their effect on production efficiency. Optimization policies like rework strategies and Kanban sizing are presented to minimize the effect of said disturbances
