Dynamic dispatching rule-pairs for multitasking workers in just-in-time production systems

The concept of multitasking workers plays a major role in the success of Just-in-Time (JIT) implementation. One key element of a JIT system is its ability to use multitasking workers to react to unbalanced workloads where the bottleneck location changes from period to period. In addition to existing rule-pairs (when to move and where to move), this study develops eight new dynamic dispatching rule-pairs especially for assigning multitasking workers within a JIT production environment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of these rule-pairs using object-oriented discrete-event simulation and response surface methodology.