An application of order release mechanisms in a batch production flow shop

Recent research efforts have focused on the method of order release as an effective operations management tool. This paper examines issues relating to the selection and application of an appropriate Order Release Mechanism (ORM) for batch production flow-shops, a class of manufacturing systems in which the products are batched and flow through the system along a predefined production route. An experimental study that was conducted to investigate the application of ORMs to an existing system is described. The system configurations examined included an informal ORM practiced by the company, CONWIP, a bottleneck capacity modified CONWIP policy, and Starvation Avoidance. Operating Characteristic curves were used to calculate appropriate WIP caps. Measures of performance were average WIP, average cycle time and average throughput. A ranking and selection procedure was utilized to select the best policy for each of the performance measures. CONWIP was shown to be the best policy in terms of average cycle time and average throughput achieved. This research reaffirms the findings of previous research regarding the applicability of CONWIP in batch production flow-shop systems.