GOALI: An Integrative Approach to Concurrent Process Planning and Production Planning in Electronics Manufacturing

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This Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) project will develop an integrative approach for concurrent process planning and production planning, with an emphasis on electronic assembly systems. Today, the development of process plans and production plans occurs more often due to the reduced life cycle of electronic products, more frequent introduction of new products, and continual changes in customer demand profiles. Furthermore, the transition from low volume demand to high volume demand for a product can occur rapidly. Thus, an effective means of generating complementary process plans and production plans is important to improve productivity and responsiveness in electronics manufacturing systems. The objectives of this research effort are as follows: (1) to develop an integrated framework and identify critical decision problems, (2) to develop analytical models and solution approaches for the resulting decision problems, and (3) to evaluate the impact of an integrated approach on the efficiency and productivity of the manufacturing system. With this integrative approach, the following questions can be investigated: (1) Under which demand profiles should various setup strategies be employed to maximize productivity? (2) How should products and resources be allocated for a given demand profile? (3) What levels of resource capacity are needed in order to achieve the manufacturing objectives? New decision models will be developed to efficiently integrate the process planning and production planning functions. Expected results include techniques to increase productivity through improved planning decisions, algorithms to support management decisions, and new case study results. The proposed research has the potential to increase responsiveness and productivity through the improved integration of manufacturing functions, to reduce capital expenditures through more effective use of expensive assembly equipment, and to reduce engineering time required to evaluate and implement changes. These research objectives are pursued in collaboration with Ericsson, Inc.