快速重组制造系统的构建原理及其应用

快速重组制造系统是一种适应21世纪全球化市场竞争的新型制造系统。提出了基于组态式柔性制造单元组成的陈列式布局的快速重组制造系统的创新结构体系,建立了以生产效益为该系统方案设计和运行决策目标的随机模型,应用排队网络模型和静态马尔科夫工件运送方式得出系统重组时缓冲区容量的优化配置和最优工件运送策略的算法,研制了作为构建快速重组制造系统核心的新颖的组态式柔性制造单元的原型,并给出生产工程中应用所创建的阵列式可重组制造系统的成功案例。     

中小企业生产系统重组设计的并行方法

中小企业生产系统需要根据市场环境的变化进行调整与重组设计以实现生产系统与外部环境的协调以及生产系统内部各功能要素的协调。提出一种基于工作地布置的生产系统整体化重组方法。这种方法的特征是基于工作地布置采用循环工作模式和并行工作的方法对生产系统进行整体化设计,从生产系统各功能领域的整体角度讨论中小企业生产系统重组的方法论体系。给出应用这种方法的一个实例。     

非大量生产类型的精益生产

针对非大量生产类型的精益生产进行了系统探讨.追溯精益生产方式的起源——丰田生产方式,提出了流水线在精益生产中的地位.以虚拟成组生产单元为依托,通过投批组的建立,来解决非大量生产类型的零件品种多、批量不大的问题.投批组确保了虚拟成组生产单元的稳定性,为拉式生产提供了可能.通过JIT的生产均衡,把拉式生产时间均衡化,并且通过降低虚拟成组生产单元的生产节拍来追求精益生产的尽善尽美.     

中、少批量生产中JIT拉式生产的实现

在中、少批量生产的制造过程中之所以推行JIT拉式生产比较困难是因为不存在实现JIT所必需的流水线.本文对中、少批量生产中如何实现拉式生产进行探讨,通过应用成组技术对生产进行流程再造,组建(虚拟)成组生产单元,进行必要的平衡调整后,在单元内部创建类似大量生产的准流水线,进而在其上按JIT的原则组织生产就可以得到拉式生产的好处.并根据国内实际情况探讨了企业的精益改造与信息化相结合的具体做法.     

计算机辅助准单元计划管理系统设计

在机械生产的企业中,无论是现在还是将来,成组生产的观念、成组单元的设计和组建都是十分重要的。它直接影响到企业的生产率、质量和效益,与企业的命运息息相关。但是,我们以往组建的封闭式成组生产单元,主要问题是生产柔性差,不大适应经常变化的产品和批量。这个问题如何解决,济南第二机床厂为我们提供了新思路。 成组技术是企业实现全面合理化的关键技术。成组单元是解决多品种、小批量产品与其制造的矛盾。因此,我们的看法是有单元和无单元大不一样。以原封闭式单元为基础,允许少量零件跳单元,或者合并同类零件的小单元,配置必要的辅助设备,这些问题是不难解决的。但关键是加强以计算机为管理工具的现代化管理方法,充分调动管理人员的积极性,并且不断地从硬、软件等方面提高单元对市场的适应性。 我们认为千万不要因为原生产单元出现一些问题,又倒回到落后的大机群式的生产方式,这个问题特别对新组建的车间或集团更为重要。     

制订生产系统重组战略的参与性方法

本文探讨了生产系统重组战略的参与性制订方法，这种方法的核心是为企业员工提供一个展示、讨论和交流自己的见解和主张的平台，通过集思广益对企业生产系统的状况进行分析和提出解决方案，并最终形成各项方案整体协调的生产重组战略。在文章的最后还将介绍这个方法在一个丹麦企业的应用实例。     

流程企业生产信息模型研究及其在企业中的应用

本文针对流程企业的特点，提出了流程企业生产模型设计的思想，综合运用IDEF0、IDEF1X等建模方法给出了具体的功能模型、数据模型和生产信息系统，并阐述了该模型在张家港市某纺织企业信息化系统构建和业务流程重组中的应用。     

空压成本，还能省多少？

无论大型还是小型企业中，使用的压缩空气生产系统都还有很大的节能潜力可挖掘。而对于压缩空气生产系统的管理与压缩技术有着同样的重要性。本文对市场中常见的空压机产品作了特点分析，择其精华推荐给您。     

基于能力拍卖和多Agent的综合生产计划分布式建模及求解

把拍卖和市场理念引入到生产计划的求解过程中,结合多Agent理论,对大规模生产系统按生产单元建立分布式模型.各个生产单元看作相对独立核算的经济实体,其目标是实现自身利益最大化.当生产能力足够时,按照需求进行生产;当生产能力不足以完全满足需求时,紧缺生产资源的持有者按照单位能力获得最大收益的原则进行生产竞价与拍卖,实现了各个生产单元的分布式自主协商决策,并设计了求解算法.算例研究证明该方法的可操作性和求解的有效性.     

精益生产,经营过程重组和成组技术

本文介绍了精益生产和经营过程重组的概念，分析了其主要特点。对成组技术在精益生产和经营过程重组中的作用进行了分析。     

实施精益生产是当前中国企业的最好选择

《改变世界的机器》和《精益思想》两书将精益生产和精益思维带到了中国,而精益生产方式曾使丰田汽车公司从较低的起步发展成为世界级的公司。那么什么是精益生产？与大量生产方式相比它有什么优劣？在中国能不能实施精益生产？如何来实施精益生产？根据与丹尼尔·琼斯教授的精益企业研究所合作在国内推广精益生产方式的实际感受,谈谈对这几方面的看法。     

How can Cleaner Production practices contribute to meet ISO 14001 requirements? Critical analysis from a survey with industrial companies

The companies’ needs to adopt changes in their way of production to maximize the environmental performance required by their stakeholders, and at the same time, to maximize their economic and market performance, have made them seek for environmental strategies and certifications. In this sense, the Cleaner Production and the Environmental Management System based on ISO 14001 have been, respectively, presented, since the main objective of this research is to identify and analyze Cleaner Production contributions to comply with ISO 14001 requirements. For such, a survey research has been carried out in Brazilian industrial companies certified by ISO 14001. We have identified the main performance factors by leading practices and variables of Cleaner Production that contribute to the compliance with the standard requirements by companies. Thus, it has been noted that Cleaner Production is an important strategy for the preparation of companies for certification as well as for improving their environmental performance.     

A rapid tool for strategic internal analysis of manufacturing firms

This paper examines strengths and weaknesses of companies in the context of the value chain as a way to assess a manufacturing firm. For doing this, the executives of 20 companies were interviewed and asked about the strengths and weaknesses they thought their companies had. The responses were classified according to the elements of the value chain and new sub-classifications were created. In this way, it was possible to discover the main concerns the executives had about their company and to see if there were some comonality in their responses. It was found that the main concerns were in the areas of Production and Sales, as opposed to Finances, Human Resources, Technology and Procurement. As a result, a proposition is made about the use of this value chain and its dimensions as a way for rapid internal assessment of a manufacturing firm. A case study is presented in which the developed tool was implemented. An internal analysis of a company was undertaken in few hours.     

Selection and implementation of pollution prevention techniques in small and medium enterprises in countries in transition

This paper aims to open the discussion about the possibility and economic feasibility of applying pollution prevention techniques in industrial enterprises with smaller production capacities than those specified in Directive 2010/75/EU. The work refers to countries with transition economies where low cost of environmental resources and pollution fees are present. The research is conducted on pilot sample of seven small- and medium-size enterprises belonging to the food and beverage sector. The enterprises have different characteristics in terms of company size, capacity levels, production processes employed, and status of the transition in terms of their ownership status. The selection of appropriate prevention techniques is done using newly developed Method for Identification of Prevention Techniques (“MIP”). The MIP method combines: (i) Minimization Opportunities Environmental Diagnosis methodology developed by Regional Activity Center for Sustainable Consumption and Production Barcelona and its approach to data collection, (ii) United Nation Industrial Development Organisation’s step-by-step approach to environmental diagnosis of industrial enterprises, (iii) Driving Forces, Pressure, State, Impact, Response Framework used by European Environmental Agency to facilitate problem–solution identification, (iv) Multicriteria ranking method for selection of best available techniques, and (v) Philosophy of Shewhart–Deming’s circle to introduce the system of planning, control, and correction and integrate prevention concept into business policy. This provided necessary flexibility corresponding to companies’ abilities to finance implementation. The results confirmed that the pollution prevention concept can be applied to small- and medium-sized companies of different production capacities and organization levels with both environmental and economic benefits.     

Machine learning based adaptive production control for a multi-cell flexible manufacturing system operating in a random environment

An adaptive production control approach is used for controlling a multi-cell FMS with machines subject to failures, operating in a highly changing produce-toorder environment. A probabilistic machine learning procedure is integrated within a two-level Distribution Production Control System (DPCS). This enables the DPCS to adapt itself to large fluctuations in demand as well as to other stochastic factors. An extensive simulation study shows that the proposed adaptive control approach significantly improves the production system performance in terms of a combined measure of throughput and order tardiness. The proposed DPCS can be easily implemented as a real-time DPCS due to its simplicity, modularity and the limited information it requires. The proposed adaptive scheme can be integrated in any parametric production control system.     

Economic evaluation of traffic safety measures for transport companies

This paper addresses the economic feasibility of measures to reduce the material damage of transport companies. Results are presented of a series of interviews among transport companies as well as from a postal questionnaire survey. Next, calculations are presented for three types of companies: a small family company, a large family company and a large formalised company. From the viewpoint of costs and benefits, damage prevention measures appear to be particularly interesting to larger companies. Small companies, being the largest group, tend to have an informal culture in which measures are less effective. Especially those measures for which no large investments are needed, which influence the behaviour of drivers and need not to be contracted out, are perceived as attractive by the transport companies.     

Development and challenges of planning and scheduling for petroleum and petrochemical production

Production planning and scheduling are becoming the core of production management, which support the decision of a petrochemical company. The optimization of production planning and scheduling is attempted by every refinery because it gains additional profit and stabilizes the daily production. The optimization problem considered in industry and academic research is of different levels of realism and complexity, thus increasing the gap. Operation research with mathematical programming is a conventional approach used to address the planning and scheduling problem. Additionally, modeling the processes, objectives, and constraints and developing the optimization algorithms are significant for industry and research. This paper introduces the perspective of production planning and scheduling from the development viewpoint.     

State-based analysis of labour productivity

Establishing efficient continuous improvement processes requires industrial companies to analyse their productivity quickly on different work system levels and to link productivity losses with suitable improvement measures in the course of productivity management. Common productivity analyses are either narrowed to certain functions of a production process or they do not possess a sufficient level of detail to derive goal-oriented improvement measures. The challenge is to gain production data with a relatively low effort and to gain broad transparency over productivity losses from the work place to the company level at the same time. This paper presents a new methodology for the comprehensive analysis of the various impacts on labour productivity, relying on state-based modelling of worker activities in serial production. Typical application areas include the automotive industry or the production of home appliances. The approach combines straightforward data acquisition methods with a structured evaluation process as foundation for the productivity management on different work system levels, including work stations, production lines, production segments and the plant. An integrated matching procedure processes the analysis results and yields a set of applicable improvement methods from a definable toolset. Compared with existing methodologies, the underlying model promises a reduced data acquisition effort and high usability. Its potential for practical application is shown with two industrial case studies.     

Modelling reconfigurable manufacturing systems with coloured timed Petri nets

Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs) have been acknowledged as a promising means of providing manufacturing companies with the required production capacities and capabilities. This is accomplished through reconfiguring system elements over time for a diverse set of individualised products often required in small quantities and with short delivery lead times. Recognising the importance of dynamic modelling and visualisation in decision-making support in RMSs and the limitations of current research, we propose in this paper to model RMSs with Petri net (PN) techniques with focus on the process of reconfiguring system elements while considering constraints and system performance. In view of the modelling challenges, including variety handling, production variation accommodation, machine selection, and constraint satisfaction, we develop a new formalism of coloured timed PNs. In conjunction with coloured tokens and timing in coloured and timed PNs, we also define a reconfiguration mechanism to meet modelling challenges. An application case from an electronics company producing mobile phone vibration motors is presented. Also reported are system analysis and application results, which show how the proposed formalism can be used in the reconfiguration decision making process.     

Empowering Kanban through TPS-principles – an empirical analysis of the Toyota Production System

The purpose of this paper is the empirical investigation of the Toyota Production System in order to test existing relationships as they are proposed in theory. The underlying model consists of seven factors reflecting the key practices of the Toyota Production System. Using data from 188 manufacturing plants participating in the High Performance Manufacturing research project, the model's measurement characteristics were validated through confirmatory factor analysis. Path analysis of the model showed that the majority of the relationships can be confirmed. Furthermore, a comparison of mean analysis based on a conducted cluster analysis indicates that plants with a higher implementation degree of the practices of the Toyota Production System also show a higher perceived performance in terms of the key criteria of production, i.e. time, cost, quality, and flexibility.