Design of a synchronous manufacturing system with just-in-time production (SMS/JITP)

One of the goals of a manufacturing system is to minimize the cost of production. A significant source of manufacturing cost is attributable to material handling. The sources of material handling cost include equipment, labor, work-in-process, and floor space. One approach to reduce material handling cost is through the implementation of synchronous manufacturing with just-in-time production. Although, the concept of a synchronous manufacturing is known, techniques to design and plan such systems are yet to be formalized. In this paper, a quantitative modeling framework for the design and analysis of a synchronous manufacturing system with just-in-time production is presented. The approach is composed of principles and techniques drawn from scheduling, layout planning, material handling, and computer simulation.