Machine-Shop Problems: An Operational Research Approach

Production planning and scheduling in a batch production environment presents management with many problems, ranging from long-term capital investment in machine tools to short-term batch sequencing. This paper, which is aimed at the production manager, introduces the general concept of model building and then discusses the more specific technique of computer simulation modelling. A simple example of the latter is used to illustrate the basic properties of such a model and then the actual model currently being used is described. The possible applications of such models are discussed and developed. Finally, a case study is presented which shows how the model has been employed in an actual production environment.