An overview of evaluative models for flexible manufacturing systems

Flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) are a class of automated systems which can be used to improve productivity in discrete parts manufacturing. Due to the complexity of these systems, it is useful to have models that can aid in the design and operation of FMSs. We specifically differentiate here betweengenerative (or prescriptive) models, whichfind candidate decisions, andevaluative (or descriptive) models, whichevaluate a given set of decisions. We briefly cover, in a practical context, the pros and cons of these two classes of models. Then we focus on the latter class of models. Evaluative models for FMSs fall into five main classes, based on the technique used, namely: static allocation, queueing network theory, simulation, perturbation analysis, and Petri nets. Each of these approaches is briefly described, advantages and disadvantages mentioned, and references given to more detailed papers.