Application of the production system design framework in the automotive components industry

Abstract

The environment that companies face nowadays is increasingly competitive. In this setting firms must ensure that its Production System is aligned with its business objectives. However, Production Systems can be extremely complex and their design involves many different disciplines. The Manufacturing System Design Decomposition (MSDD) developed by the Production System Design Laboratory at MIT is useful to identify the objectives (Functional Requirements - FRs), and the corresponding implementation (Design Parameters - DPs) for the key decisions that must be made to design a manufacturing system. This work presents the Production System Design Framework, which is based on the MSDD, as a roadmap to approach the intricate design and implementation process. Special attention is placed on an important part of the framework: The Production System Design and Deployment Steps. This thesis exhibits the direct application of the PSD Framework to the design and implementation of an automotive components production system. The basis for this design is the MSDD and it is implemented through the Production System Design and Deployment Steps. Each step is described in detail and it is explained how it was adapted to the particular requirements of the project. Additionally, a manufacturing system of electronics components is examined. Two different system designs for the same product are studied. The analysis is performed using traditional performance metrics as the evaluating criteria. In addition, this analysis is contrasted to an analysis made using the MSDD. The similarities of the results validate the importance of the MSDD. Furthermore, the MSDD is used to identify potential areas for improvement.