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Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (Engineering), 2005.

Abstract

The objective of this research is to develop a method to design a manufacturing system for mass customization. Mass customization is the production of individually customized products and services at near mass production efficiency. Most literature on the subject focuses on developing products that can be manufactured through mass customization. A new approach to design a cell-based system for mass customization manufacturing is presented in this research.

The options offered for customized products’ features and their process plans are used to design the proposed multi-stage minicell configuration. A new type of cells called minicells—small manufacturing cells dedicated to process a part of the operations required for an option family—are the building blocks in the new system. The processing operations for the options are divided into multiple stages and option families and minicells are formed within them to create the multi-stage configuration.

A multi-chromosome genetic algorithm is developed to design a minicell configuration for a given expected product variant demand. An approach is presented to find a flexible minicell configuration that can handle variations in product mix and volume for a particular problem, using the genetic algorithm and simulation. Alternate minicell designs and the performance of the system with such designs are evaluated to assist in choosing the most appropriate minicell configuration. In addition, this research presents two approaches to laying out the minicells within the stages after the cells have been designed, in order to minimize the total distance traveled.

The minicell configuration is an attempt to combine the benefits of cellular manufacturing and job shops to meet the requirements of mass customization. The proposed design is more flexible than traditional cellular manufacturing systems particularly in dynamic demand—volume and mix—environments seen in mass customization. Forming options families and minicells helps benefit from group technology concepts while still retaining some of the flexibility offered in job shops. With the minicell configuration, the desired performance—makespan and flow time—can be achieved without a significantly influencing machine requirements.

Subject Headings

Engineering, Industrial

Keywords

Mass Customization; Minicells; Genetic algorithms; Manufacturing system; Cell formation

Advisor

Dale Masel

Pages

254p.

Document number: ohiou1127141934
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1127141934

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