Machine sequencing and resource utilization
T.A.J. Nicholson · 2017
There are a number of problems in a factory of a continuing nature which arise every week or every fortnight or even every day. Their frequency means that only a small improvement in methodology could lead to substantial annual savings. The most important of these problems is the efficient loading of machines with the current workload so that the various jobs in the factory are being progressed at the correct rate and the full resources of the factory are being properly organized. Competent short-term planning of this kind is particularly relevant in engineering jobbing shops and batch manufacturing processes where set-up costs are high, and the ratio of the value added by processing to the material value of the product is comparatively low, as it is then important to sequence the jobs efficiently, keep in-process stocks down and avoid too much stock-holding.