hodology for the adaptive design of economically optimized process sequences in the case of short-term disruptions in the manufacturing process

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bergs
• Subject Area: Production Systems, Operations Management, Quality Management and Factory Planning
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 500414322

Due to the increasing complexity of production, production is highly susceptible to short-term disruptions. Series production in particular is characterized by a high complexity and thus susceptibility due to the fixed linking of different processes to process sequences. At the same time, due to a general increase in dynamics, the number of unpredictable disruptions with negative effects on production is rising. As a result, production disruptions are becoming more and more frequent. Each disruption of production is associated with additional costs, e.g. due to additional planning efforts or delays in delivery. Adjustments in production are necessary to reduce these negative effects. The adaptability of production to reduce the negative effects of a disruption becomes a central element of a company's competitiveness. Companies are required to react adaptively and quickly to disruptions in parallel to production in order to minimize the negative economic consequences of a disruption.At present, however, there is no approach that enables the quick determination of an economically optimized reaction option for reacting to disruptions while taking into account technological dependencies of the processes as well as the process parameters, so that cost reduction potentials remain unused. In order to close this research gap, a generic methodology will be developed in the research project applied for, which enables an economically optimized, adaptive process sequence design to react to disruptions in the production process.This goal was divided into four sub-goals. In order to achieve the first sub-goal, a methodology will be developed which allows a comprehensive modelling and analysis of an initially occurring disruption as well as induced subsequent disruptions within the process sequence. This is the basis for the determination of disruption-specific reaction options. In order to be able to determine corresponding reaction options, a methodology is being developed in the second sub-goal, which allows the determination of reaction options for the reduction of disruption-related negative effects. In the course of this, a description model of the capabilities of the manufacturing processes of the process sequence is also to be developed, in order to enable an application-specific determination of technological reaction options. Sub-goal three comprises the development of an evaluation methodology for the selection of the economically optimal alternative from the set of identified response options. Finally, in the fourth sub-goal, the three methodologies for disruption analysis, identification of response options and evaluation of response options are combined into an overall generic methodology with which a comprehensive economic adaptive response to short-term disruptions in the production process can be realized.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants