This book contains a collection of contributions related to the design and control of material flow systems in manufacturing. Material flow systems in manufacturing covers a broad spectrum of topics directly affecting issues related to facilities design, material handling and production planning and control. In selecting the papers to include in this book, the scope was limited to the design and operational control aspects related to the physical move ment of parts, tools, containers and material handling devices. Recent develop ments in this area naturally led to concentration on flow systems involving cellular manufacturing, and automated transport equipment such as automated guided vehicles. However, the concepts discussed have general applicability to a wide range of manufacturing flow problems. The book is organized in five major sections: 1. design integration and justification; 2. cell design and material handling considerations; 3. alternative material flow paths; 4. operational control problems; and 5. tooling requirements and transport equipment.

This book contains the results of an Advanced Research Workshop that took place in Grenoble, France, in June 1988. The objective of this NATO ARW on Advanced Information Technologies for Industrial Material Flow Systems (MFS) was to bring together eminent research professionals from academia, industry and government who specialize in the study and application of information technology for material flow contro!' The current world status was reviewed and an agenda for needed research was discussed and established. The workshop focused on the following subjects: The nature of information within the material flow domain. Status of contemporary databases for engineering and material flow. Distributed databases and information integration. Artificial intelligence techniques and models for material flow problem solving. Digital communications for material flow systems. Robotics, intelligent systems, and material flow contro!' Material handling and storage systems information and contro!' Implementation, organization, and economic research-issues as related to the above. Material flow control is as important as manufacturing and other process control in the computer integrated environment. Important developments have been occurring internationally in information technology, robotics, artificial intelligence and their application in material flow/material handling systems. In a traditional sense, material flow in manufacturing (and other industrial operations) consists of the independent movement of work-in-process between processing entities in order to fulfill the requirements of the appropriate production and process plans. Generally, information, in this environment, has been communicated from processors to movers.

The first-ever book on this subject establishes a rigid, transparent and useful methodology for investigating the material metabolism of anthropogenic systems. Using Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the main sources, flows, stocks, and emissions of man-made and natural materials can be determined. By demonstrating the application of MFA, this book reveals how resources can be conserved and the environment protected within complex systems. The fourteen case studies presented exemplify the potential for MFA to contribute to sustainable materials management. Exercises throughout the book deepen comprehension and expertise. The authors have had success in applying MFA to various fields, and now promote the use of MFA so that future engineers and planners have a common method for solving resource-oriented problems.

This workbook explains in simple, step-by-step terms how to introduce and sustain lean flows of material and information in pacemaker cells and lines, a prerequisite for achieving a lean value stream.A sight we frequently encounter when touring plants is the relocation of processing steps from departments (process villages) to product-family work cells, but too often these "cells" produce only intermittent and erratic flow. Output gyrates from hour to hour and small piles of inventory accumulate between each operation so that few of the benefits of cellularization are actually being realized; and, if the cell is located upstream from the pacemaker process, none of the benefits may ever reach the customer.This sequel to Learning to See (which focused on plant level operations) provides simple step-by-step instructions for eliminating waste and creating continuous flow at the process level. This isn't a workbook you will read once then relegate to the bookshelf. It's an action guide for managers, engineers, and production associates that you will use to improve flow each and every day.Creating Continuous Flow takes you to the next level in work cell design where you'll achieve even greater cost and lead time savings. You'll learn: where to focus your continuous flow efforts, how to create much more efficient work cells and lines, how to operate a pacemaker process so that a lean value stream is possible, how to sustain the gains, and keep improving.Creating Continuous Flow is the next logical step after Learning to See. The value-stream mapping process defined the pacemaker process and the overall flow of products and information in the plant. The next step is to shift your focus from the plant to the process level by zeroing in on the pacemaker process, which sets the production rhythm for the plant or value stream, and apply the principles of continuous flow.Every production facility has at least one pacemaker process. The pacemaker processes is usually where products take their final form before going to external customers. It’s called the pacemaker because how you operate here determines both how well you can serve the customer and what the demand pattern is like for your upstream supplying processes.How the pacemaker process operates is critically important. A steady and consistently flowing pacemaker places steady and consistent demands on the rest of the value stream. The continuous flow processing that results allows companies to create leaner value streams.[Source : 4e de couv.]

Here is an in-depth account of one of the most important strategic tools available to manufacturing analysts. The author, a nationally known expert in the field, provides much needed guidance on production flow analysis, a new technique that will help save time and money by minimizing set-up times and reducing the size of buffering stocks of components. The volume demonstrates the use of route cards to achieve a total division of made components into families and a parallel division of existing machines into groups using previously established processing methods.

Produced for unit SEM436 (Design of manufacturing systems) offered by the Faculty of Science and Technology's School of Engineering and Technology in Deakin University's Open Campus Program.

Recognizing the increasing importance of environmental issues, energy prices, material availability and efficiency and the difficulty of adequately managing these issues in traditional accounting systems, several companies all over the world have started implementing “Environmental and Material Flow Cost Accounting” (EMA and MFCA). “Environmental and Material Flow Costs Accounting” explains and updates the approach developed for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DSD/UNDESA) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and in addition includes experiences of several case studies and recent developments regarding EMA and MFCA in national statistics and ISO standardization.

In this second edition of a bestseller, authors Paul H. Brunner and Helmut Rechberger guide professional newcomers as well as experienced engineers and scientists towards mastering the art of material flow analysis (MFA) from the very beginning to an advanced state of material balances of complex systems. Handbook of Material Flow Analysis: For Environmental, Resource, and Waste Engineers, Second Edition serves as a concise and reproducible methodology as well as a basis for analysis, assessment and improvement of anthropogenic systems through an approach that is helpfully uniform and standardized. The methodology featured in this book is a vital resource for generating new data, fostering understanding, and increasing knowledge to benefit the growing MFA community working in the fields of industrial ecology, resource management, waste management, and environmental protection. This new second edition takes into account all new developments and readers will profit from a new exploration of STAN software, newly added citations, and thoroughly described case studies that reveal the potential of MFA to solve industrial ecology challenges.

Produced for unit SEM436 (Design of manufacturing systems) offered by the Faculty of Science and Technology's School of Engineering and Technology in Deakin University's Open Campus Program.