A PRACTICAL MULTIPLE-TOOL-SET APPROACH FOR INCREASING AGILE RESPONSE IN OVERHAUL PRODUCTION WITH LIMITED RESOURCE REQUIREMENT VISIBILITY

Authors

  • Han-Hsin Chou Department of Travel Management at the Hsing-Wu University, Taiwan, R.O.C.
  • Chi-Tai Wang Graduate Institute of Industrial Management, National Central University,Taiwan,R.O.C.
  • Ru-Shuo Sheu Department of Travel Management, Hsing-Wu University,Taiwan,R.O.C.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23055/ijietap.2016.23.2.1809

Keywords:

agility, theory of constraints (TOC), radio frequency identification (RFID), simulation, bottleneck identification

Abstract

Agility has become a manufacturing paradigm of the 21st century that numerous firms have adopted it as a competitive strategy. Not surprisingly, there is a comprehensive body of research conducted on this subject. However, little study has been done for one-of-a-kind manufacturing where resource requirements are not available until well into the manufacturing process. In addition, there are other uncertain factors such as the changing production lead-time, making the environment dynamic and hard to predict. To address this issue, we conduct an action research study to enable an agile response to the factory dynamics of the subject environment. Our solution is a novel integration of four widely used technologies: radio frequency identification (RFID), simulation, bottleneck identification methods and the theory of constraints (TOC). Using numerical industry data, we illustrate how this multiple-tool-set approach is effective in achieving agility in a real one-of-a-kind manufacturing facility. With minor modifications, our solution can also be used in other manufacturing environments.

Author Biographies

Han-Hsin Chou, Department of Travel Management at the Hsing-Wu University, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Han-Hsin Chou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Travel Management at the Hsing-Wu University. He obtained his MSc and Ph.D. in System Engineering from the Chung-Cheng Institute of Technology, National Defense University (Taiwan). Dr Chou’s current research areas cover logistics management, travel service management, simulation in performance assessment and applications of RFID technology.

Chi-Tai Wang, Graduate Institute of Industrial Management, National Central University,Taiwan,R.O.C.

Chi-Tai Wang is Associate Professor of Industrial Management at the School of Management at National Central University (Taiwan).  He received his Ph.D. in Industrial & Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor).  He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Applied Mathematics from National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan).  After graduating from Michigan, he spent around 9 years developing supply chain management systems for IBM’s global semiconductor manufacturing businesses.  His current research interests centre around the application of operations research in supply chain management and facility layout design, as well as the analysis of industry dynamics in high tech sectors.

Ru-Shuo Sheu, Department of Travel Management, Hsing-Wu University,Taiwan,R.O.C.

Ru-Shuo Sheu is Associate Professor and Head of Department in Travel Management at Hsing-Wu University. He is also an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA). Ru-Shuo obtained MSc in statistics from Iowa State University and PhD in statistics from the University of Auckland. He lectured at Chinese Culture University and Kainan University for a number of years before joining Hsing-Wu University in 2009. His current research interests include stochastic networks and queueing theory.

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Published

2016-07-20

How to Cite

Chou, H.-H., Wang, C.-T., & Sheu, R.-S. (2016). A PRACTICAL MULTIPLE-TOOL-SET APPROACH FOR INCREASING AGILE RESPONSE IN OVERHAUL PRODUCTION WITH LIMITED RESOURCE REQUIREMENT VISIBILITY. International Journal of Industrial Engineering: Theory, Applications and Practice, 23(2). https://doi.org/10.23055/ijietap.2016.23.2.1809

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 2 (2016)

Section

Management of Technology

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