| Article ID: | iaor2000839 |
| Country: | United States |
| Volume: | 7 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Start Page Number: | 402 |
| End Page Number: | 416 |
| Publication Date: | Dec 1998 |
| Journal: | Production and Operations Management |
| Authors: | Barman Samir, Laforge R. Lawrence |
This study examines the effects of using different priority rules at different stages of a multi-stage, flow-dominant shop. A simulation model is constructed of a manufacturing system composed of three stages: gateway, intermediate, and finishing. As is typical of a flow-dominant shop, the overall flow of the simulated system (gateway to intermediate to finishing) is consistent with a flow shop, but processing in the intermediate stage involves multiple work centers and resembles a job shop. Shop performance is observed when four well-known priority heuristics are applied in different combinations in the gateway, intermediate, and finishing stages of the process. Multiple performance measures addressing the strategic objectives of delivery speed and delivery reliability are recorded under two different shop load conditions. Results show that the measures of both delivery speed and delivery reliability are affected by the priority rule combinations, and that a tradeoff exists between average performance and consistency of performance. Certain priority rule combinations affect performance in predictable ways, allowing the user to assess tradeoffs between delivery speed and delivery reliability.