9308931 Peters The electronics industry is characterized by wide product variety, rapid product changes, and short product life cycle. Flexible assembly systems have been cited as a production system able to cope with the challenges of this type of environment. However, little research has been done to investigate what constitutes a flexible assembly system or how to design them. This research will investigate the design and planning of flexible assembly systems from a strategic perspective. The objective of the research are threefold: (1) to characterize flexibility and to determine the causes of flexibility, (2) to develop analysis tools for determining an initial system design under time varying production requirements, where the system design consists of the number of facilities, the configuration of each facility, the capacity of each facility, and the assignment of products to facilities; and (3) to develop analysis tools and solution methodologies for determining and evaluating strategies for system changeovers over time, including product reassignments and capacity and configuration changes. Currently, practitioners are ill equipped to address flexibility issues and to make strategic planning decisions in rapidly changing environments. This research will provide tools to aid decision makers in designing and planning flexible assembly systems.
