| This dissertation examines the issue of manufacturing flexibility. The specific objectives are to develop a unified framework to describe and evaluate the various types of flexibility, examine the factors currently driving firms to develop flexible systems, identify the dimensions of flexibility which must be achieved for competitive success, and develop specific normative insight on how flexible systems may be designed, developed, implemented and managed.;A primary theme is that successful systems must be managed to achieve both static and dynamic flexibility; that is, with the ability to respond to both systematic changes internal to the system, and dynamic changes in the markets, technologies and competitive environment.;A second theme is that the design of the products and systems have an important bearing on the level of flexibility. Consequently, the management of the interface between design and manufacturing is of increasing importance in a dynamic context.;The study contains two parts. In the first, conventional approaches for managing small lot multiproduct manufacturing, including Group Technology and cellular manufacturing, are examined. By standardizing product designs and production processes, these methods are potentially limiting when it inhibits the rapid responses to changing markets and technological opportunities. Consequently, the theories of the "core concept" and the "portfolio approach" are developed and inductively applied to a successful manufacturing system in the farm and construction equipment industry to obtain specific insight into the use of flexibility in conventional manufacturing settings.;On this basis a model is developed to guide economic decision-making to suit manufacturing flexibility. The math problem is constructed to explicitly consider the hierarchy of decisions from the choice of portfolios and allocation to manufacturing cells, to the choice of specific products within different portfolios to be manufactured in a given period. The model contributes to the understanding of flexible systems by providing a new view of what products cost, and a procedure to select appropriate projects to improve productivity in flexible systems.;The second part investigates the potential that computer-integrated systems provide for manufacturing flexibility in a dynamic environment. A framework describing the evolution of automated manufacturing systems is extended to incorporate the new microprocessor-based technologies, characterized by a unique mix of capabilities including repeatability, reprogrammability and adaptive control. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.). |
