2023 Volume 30 Issue 1 Pages 31-40
This paper proposes a more quantitative and objective method of setting controllable parameters (capacity surplus, standard inventory and lot size) for a plastic wire manufacturing process using a production seat system, by using the analytic hierarchy process in seat frames setting to maintain the criteria of stock-out, average inventory, set-up workload and vacant seats (idle time) as low as possible, and reports on a case study in which the application of the proposed method resulted in improvements. A production seat system is a system that prepares production capacity systematically in advance and performs scheduling, similar to seat selection (vacant seat reservation) on a bullet train. Seat frames setting is a part of production planning that determined to how much production capacity is to be set up. The seat frames of the target process are set using the controllable parameters. However, in setting the parameter values, arbitrariness based on the planners’ rule of thumb with an emphasis on manufacturing convenience, such as inventory and vacant seats, has been an issue. In this paper, the production seat system is described first, followed by an overview of the target process and details of the production planning. Then, the method of seat frames setting by applying the analytic hierarchy process is proposed, and finally, an application case with improved results is reported.
