Management wishes to move the job shop toward a lean system in which there would be three workcells, one for each job type. Due to current budget constraints, no more machines than were found necessary in the case study above can be used, a total of 11. As a first step toward lean in the short term, the following options are to be evaluated with respect to service level and total number of machines.
1. A serial line to produce type 3 jobs and smaller job shop to produce type 1 and 2 jobs with 10 total machines.
2. A serial line to produce type 3 jobs and smaller job shop to produce type 1 and 2 jobs with 11 total machines.
3. Three serial lines, one for each type of job, with 11 total machines.
Build the simulation models and conduct the simulation experiments to evaluate the above options. Case Problem Issues
1. Suppose each type of job is run on its own dedicated serial line (#3 above). How many machines of each kind are needed for each type of job?
2. Can this analysis be done using the model developed in this chapter? If so, tell how.
3. For item 1 above, how would the 10 total machines be allocated by machine type and location (serial line for jobs of type 3 and job shop for jobs of type 1 and 2)?
4. For item 2 above, how would the 11 total machines be allocated by machine type and location (serial line for jobs of type 3 and job shop for jobs of type 1 and 2)?