Simulation based scheduling using interactive data and lean concepts in a manufacturing industry

Workforce is one of the most expensive and most valuable assets in the industry. To remain competitive in the market, it is important to create a decision-making framework for head count planning and workforce allocation. This requires a system to meet expected outputs and labor productivity improvement. Linear representation of workforce scheduling fails to capture the stochastic nature of the demand. Therefore, the scheduling of workforce needs to focus on various characteristics such as: worker efficiency, quality of work, demand, etc.;This research proposes a framework that integrates simulation, workforce efficiency matrix, and lean techniques for workforce scheduling in a server manufacturing environment. Three proposals were investigated: uniform reduction of workforce, efficient workforce allocation, and process improvements identified using lean tools. All three proposals were evaluated using discrete event simulation. The analysis indicates that implementing the process improvement opportunities that were identified using lean concepts resulted in higher throughput and reduced workforce utilization.