Investigation of scheduling integration of flexible manufacturing systems for mass customisation

AbstractIn contemporary manufacturing and supply chain environments, there are various challenges that companies have to face. Many companies are facing challenges to respond quickly to customers’ requirements and to provide customised products cost effectively. Mass customisation (MC) can help companies to provide customised products and services quickly at a low price. Integrated decision-making can obtain performance improvement in many situations. This paper investigates the problem of scheduling integration of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) for mass customisation. A mathematical model is formulated for the problem. A set-based dynamic algorithm is developed. Numerical studies are made on the proposed algorithm by simulation and by statistical analysis. Conclusions, managerial implications, and future research suggestions are provided.KEYWORDS: Mass customisationintegrated decision-makingdynamic workload balancingFMS schedulingdynamic scheduling AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to gratefully thank the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Dolgui, the associate editor, and the referees for the consideration and valuable comments to improve our paper.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Additional informationNotes on contributorsYumin HeYumin He is an Associate Professor in School of Economics and Management, Beihang University. She received an B.S. and an M.S. in Electronic Engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She received an M.S. and an Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University. She published research papers on FMS scheduling in International Journal of Production Research, Robotics and Computer-integrated Manufacturing, and International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems. She has research interests in FMS scheduling, information management, quality management, project management, and so forth.Milton L. SmithDr. Milton L. Smith is a Professor of Industrial Engineering at Texas Tech University. He served as chairman of the department and served as the Associate Editor of IIE Transactions previously. He received M.S.I.E. and Ph.D. from Texas Tech University. He published papers in Management Science, Operations Research, International Journal of Production Research, IIE Transactions, Computers & Industrial Engineering, and so forth. He conducted research in production scheduling, simulation of manufacturing operations, project management, and risk management. He has research interests in production systems and in practical applications of industrial engineering/operations research.