V. Albino et al., VULNERABILITY OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS WITH MULTISUPPLIER NETWORK - A CASE-STUDY, International journal of production research (Print), 36(11), 1998, pp. 3055-3066
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Engineering,"Operatione Research & Management Science
Despite management capability and innovative production techniques, un
certainty and variability that affect production systems cannot be com
pletely controlled or eliminated. Thus, it is important to evaluate th
e intrinsic system characteristics that are susceptible to the negativ
e impact of unexpected or unavoidable disruptions on system performanc
e. In this paper, we apply the concept of vulnerability to production
systems in order to provide some insight into the effect of uncertaint
y and variability on system performance. In particular, a model of a p
roduction system with a multi-supply network that is subject to proces
s uncertainty and product mix variability is used to analyse the effec
ts of system vulnerability. A case study is used to demonstrate the ef
fects of specific characteristics of a real production system that can
render the system vulnerable. The approach demonstrates the difficult
y of improving performance without appropriate changes in the product/
process design and/or in operations management.