Impact of family-based scheduling on transfer batches in a job shop manufacturing cell

Past research has shown that the performance of manufacturing cells can be improved if family oriented scheduling heuristics are used, or if jobs are split into smaller transfer batches for processing material handling purposes. The research has also shown that large amounts of lot splitting results in increased setup frequency due to the reduction in transfer batch size. This can offset any gains in performance. This study examines the combined effect of lot splitting in a manufacturing cell that utilizes family-based scheduling heuristics. The results show that family-based scheduling is an effective means of reducing the negative impact of lot splitting on flow time. Lot splitting, however, has little benefit for due date performance even when scheduling rules that reduce setup frequency are used.