Modelling the factors affecting flexibility in FMS

Today's dynamic market has forced the manufacturing managers to take interest in flexibility which bestows on an industry to respond promptly to market opportunities and changing technologies. The development of capabilities to be flexible rests on the mandate of top management, helps industries to manage market uncertainties and tends to enhance manufacturing performance. Manufacturing organisations are looking at flexible manufacturing system (FMS) as a viable alternative to enhance their competitive edge. There are, however, some factors affecting the flexibility of FMS. The aim of this research is to analyse and identify those factors which influence some other factors in a big way (called driving factors) and those which are most influenced by the others (called dependent factors). In this paper, these factors have been identified through literature, their ranking is done by a questionnaire-based survey and interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach has been utilised in analysing their mutual relationships. An ISM model of these factors has been prepared to identify some key factors and their managerial implications.

[1]  Angel Martínez Sánchez,et al.  FMS in Spanish Industry: Lessons from Experience , 1994 .

[2]  Kumbakonam R. Rajagopal,et al.  A heuristic based on multi-stage programming approach for machine-loading problem in a flexible manufacturing system , 2006 .

[3]  Kurapati Venkatesh,et al.  Flexible Manufacturing Systems: An Overview , 1994 .

[4]  Kathryn E. Stecke,et al.  Formulation and Solution of Nonlinear Integer Production Planning Problems for Flexible Manufacturing Systems , 1983 .

[5]  Colin L. Moodie,et al.  Definition and Classification of Manufacturing Flexibility Types and Measures , 1998 .

[6]  Sanchoy K. Das,et al.  The measurement of flexibility in manufacturing systems , 1996 .

[7]  Ozden Bayazit,et al.  Use of AHP in decision‐making for flexible manufacturing systems , 2005 .

[8]  V. Grover,et al.  An assessment of survey research in POM: from constructs to theory , 1998 .

[9]  Ravi Shankar,et al.  Information risks management in supply chains: an assessment and mitigation framework , 2007, J. Enterp. Inf. Manag..

[10]  P. Primrose.  Do companies need to measure their production flexibility , 1996 .

[11]  Philippe Lacomme,et al.  An MILP for scheduling problems in an FMS with one vehicle , 2009, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[12]  Mikell P. Groover,et al.  Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing , 1987 .

[13]  Kathryn E. Stecke,et al.  Classification of flexible manufacturing systems , 2011 .

[14]  Young K. Son,et al.  Quantifying opportunity costs associated with adding manufacturing flexibility , 1990 .

[15]  Hing Kai Chan,et al.  Analysis of dynamic control strategies of an FMS under different scenarios , 2004 .

[16]  Nicola Bateman,et al.  Measuring the production range flexibility of a FMS , 1995 .

[17]  R. S. Lashkari,et al.  A multi-objective model of operation allocation and material handling system selection in FMS design , 2007 .

[18]  Suresh P. Sethi,et al.  Flexibility in manufacturing: A survey , 1990 .

[19]  Young K. Son,et al.  An economic evaluation model for advanced manufacturing systems using activity-based costing , 1988 .

[20]  Ravi Shankar,et al.  An ISM approach for modelling the enablers of flexible manufacturing system: the case for India , 2008 .

[21]  R. Cordero.  Changing human resources to make flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) successful , 1997 .

[22]  S. Deshmukh,et al.  Vendor Selection Using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) , 1994 .

[23]  Robert E. Young,et al.  The design of flexible manufacturing systems , 1993 .

[24]  Manoj Kumar Tiwari,et al.  Solving machine-loading problem of a flexible manufacturing system with constraint-based genetic algorithm , 2006, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[25]  R. Sridharan,et al.  Simulation modeling and analysis of tool sharing and part scheduling decisions in single-stage multimachine flexible manufacturing systems , 2007 .

[26]  R. Shankar,et al.  An interpretive structural modeling of knowledge management in engineering industries , 2003 .

[27]  U. Bertelè,et al.  Measuring the economic effectiveness of flexible automation: a new approach , 1989 .

[28]  S. G. Deshmukh,et al.  Evaluation of buyer‐supplier relationships using an integrated mathematical approach of interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and graph theoretic matrix: The case study of Indian automotive SMEs , 2007 .

[29]  Felix T.S. Chan,et al.  Evaluations of operational control rules in scheduling a flexible manufacturing system , 1999 .

[30]  R. Shankar,et al.  Productivity improvement of a computer hardware supply chain , 2005 .

[31]  M. R. Abdi,et al.  Feasibility study of the tactical design justification for reconfigurable manufacturing systems using the fuzzy analytical hierarchical process , 2004 .

[32]  Z. Irani,et al.  Quantification of flexibility in advanced manufacturing systems using fuzzy concept , 2004 .

[33]  Bijan Shirinzadeh,et al.  Flexible fixturing for workpiece positioning and constraining , 2002 .

[34]  Ravi Shankar,et al.  Supply chain risk mitigation: modeling the enablers , 2006, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[35]  R. Shankar,et al.  IT enablement of supply chains: modeling the enablers , 2004 .

[36]  Kamal Youcef-Toumi,et al.  Kinematic methods for automated fixture reconfiguration planning , 1990, Proceedings., IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[37]  Sushil,et al.  Scenario building: A critical study of energy conservation in the Indian cement industry , 1992 .

[38]  Roger Pye,et al.  A Formal, Decision-Theoretic Approach to Flexibility and Robustness , 1978 .

[39]  R. Shankar,et al.  Modeling agility of supply chain , 2007 .

[40]  Dinesh Kumar,et al.  Modeling the logistics outsourcing relationship variables to enhance shippers' productivity and competitiveness in logistical supply chain , 2007 .

[41]  Andrew P. Sage,et al.  On the use of interpretive structural modeling for worth assessment , 1975 .

[42]  M. Ahmad,et al.  Proposing a non‐traditional ordering methodology in achieving optimal flexibility with minimal inventory risk , 2005 .

[43]  Prem Vrat,et al.  Impact of indirect relationships in classification of variables—a micmac analysis for energy conservation , 1990 .

[44]  S. G. Deshmukh,et al.  Strategic Framework for Implementing Flexible Manufacturing Systems in India , 1994 .

[45]  R. Venkata Rao,et al.  Machine group selection in a flexible manufacturing cell using digraph and matrix methods , 2006 .

[46]  William A. Miller,et al.  An evolutionary algorithm-based decision support system for managing flexible manufacturing , 2004 .

[47]  Hitoshi Tsubone,et al.  A Comparison Between Machine Flexibility and Routing Flexibility , 1999 .

[48]  Yoram Koren,et al.  Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems , 2003 .

[49]  Chen-Hua Chung,et al.  An examination of flexibility measurements and performance of flexible manufacturing systems , 1996 .

[50]  R. Sridharan,et al.  Simulation modelling and analysis of part and tool flow control decisions in a flexible manufacturing system , 2009 .

[51]  Dragutin M. Zelenović,et al.  Flexibility—a condition for effective production systems , 1982 .

[52]  Bijan Shirinzadeh.  Flexible and automated workholding systems , 1995 .

[53]  E. Fontela,et al.  Using interpretive structural modelling in strategic decision‐making groups , 2005 .