The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project is to study robust production systems the performance of which is resilient with respect to variations in manufacturing environment. Specifically, the theory of robustness for production systems will be established, the results derived will be validated and applied on the factory floor. The robustness of production systems can be characterized with respect to the following three perspectives, related to both steady state and transient performance measures: machines, human factors, and products. Each of these perspectives will be studied in the framework of serial lines and assembly systems. The approach will be based on analytical investigations and simulations of Markov and general random processes that describe the production systems at hand. Conditions under which the system operates robustly will be derived based on the analysis of system performance. In addition, an educational program will be established through a new curriculum, student supervising and industrial training, professional education, and international collaboration, all integrated with the research program.
If successful, the results of this research will lead to establishment of a theoretical foundation to address one of the key challenges in modern manufacturing systems. It will enable us to study the robustness of production systems to achieve best productivity, quality and flexibility, and open up a new direction devoted to robustness in manufacturing systems research. It will provide engineers and managers of manufacturing enterprises with quantitative and qualitative tools and principles for design and operation of robust production systems. The methodology will also be transferable to study supply chains, health care systems, communication and information networks, as well as other systems.
