Workload Control in Flow Shops with Bottleneck Shifting and Process Time Variability

Abstract Manufacturing industries struggle to devise precise planning and scheduling solutions due to unpredictable business situations. Additionally, uncertainties in production such as machine breakdowns, labour absenteeism, cycle time deviations, etc., would further deteriorate production plans and lead to uncertainty in decision-making processes. Flow shops with bottlenecks are particularly susceptible to these disturbances. Moreover, the random variations in cycle time variations can cause the bottleneck to shift between different stages. Literature indicates that conventional job release methods are ineffective in addressing these difficulties. In contrast, workload control methods would provide better solutions. Hence, a flow shop model has been developed and simulated using the variables like process time variations and bottleneck shifting on the discrete-event simulation software. The flow shop model incorporates realistic shop characteristics which are subjected to random process time variations, so as to assess the performance. The outcomes of the experimentation demonstrate that order release methods play a pivotal role in improving the performance of flow shops in more volatile situations.