A GENERAL APPROACH FOR COORDINATING PRODUCTION IN MULTIPLE‐CELL MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

We introduce a general approach to the coordination and control of material and information flow in multiple cell manufacturing systems. This approach uses production authorization cards (called PAC system) and generalizes such well-known approaches as MRP (material requirements planning), KANBAN (japanese card system), OPT (optimized production technology), BSS (base. stock system), IC (integral control), CONWIP (constant work-in-process), and others. It provides a framework for developing coordination and control mechanisms that combine the desirable features of more than one of these traditional approaches. The coordination is achieved by the rules that determine when and how material and information flow through the system and by the appropriate choice of the parameters of these rules. We also discuss various models of the PAC system that can be used to gain insight into the impact of the choices of the parameters. Directions for future research in this area is also outlined.