Using simulation and multi-criteria methods to provide robust solutions to dispatching problems in a flow shop with multiple processors

  • Authors:

  • Yiyo Kuo;Taho Yang;Chiwoon Cho;Yao-Ching Tseng

  • Affiliations:

  • Department of Technology Management, Hsing Kuo University of Management, Tainan 709, Taiwan;Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan;School of Industrial Engineering, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 680-749, Republic of Korea;Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan

  • Venue:
  • Mathematics and Computers in Simulation
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

Dispatching rules are important to the performance of a manufacturing system. Selective applications of different priority rules at different processing stages in a multiple workstation manufacturing system have a positive impact on shop performance. This type of problem is a combinatorial dispatching decision. However, no dispatching rule can consistently produce better performance than all other rules under a variety of operating conditions and criteria. It is the purpose of this study to provide a robust solution for a dispatching decision that will have 'good' performance under different operating scenarios. In this paper a simulation case of a flow shop with multiple processors is proposed, specifically a multi-layer ceramic capacitor manufacturing system. Two multiple criteria decision-making methods - techniques for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) - in combination with Taguchi orthogonal array are used to find the most suitable dispatching rule for every workstation. The results show that for 15 production scenarios and 4 criteria this combinatorial dispatching rule is robust, in the sense that it outperforms other commonly employed strategies.