Abstract
Planning new production systems is a very complex task which covers several stages from preparation to realisation, and concerns technical as well as economic aspects. The general objective of this study is to investigate the use of cost information during the stage of planning production systems in order to integrate technical and economic aspects. Its main aim is to create a model, providing cost information in different levels of detail regarding processes, resources and products of the intended system in the stage of planning. The purpose is to design a 'Hierarchical, Integrated Process-, Resource- and Object-Model', which represents the mutual dependence of individual functions and the sequences of operations in the planned production structure. The theoretical concept of the model shall be transformed into a windows-based software program. The model will help to assess new structures in an early stage of planning by making relevant cost- and performance-data available.In a review of relevant topics, the author points out that the current situation for planning production systems is very demanding. A computer based method which can provide monetary analyses in the planning stage would be very helpful. A review of current methods shows that there are many which are related to the subject of planning production systems. However, no method or program could be found which meets the described requirements.
Because of the shortfalls of existing methods, a new method is proposed by the author. The theoretical concept of this new method involves three main characteristics:
1. Both monetary analyses and analyses in the original unit (for example in hours, minutes, kg and so on) are possible for all elements of the planned production system.
2. The author demonstrates that Processes, Resources and Objects can be used as the Basic-Elements of a production system. The Basic-Elements are strictly separated in single models. The integration of these three models (P-Model, R-Model and O-Model) leads to a 'three dimensional' planning and costing system.
3. The three separated models and the integration itself, are hierarchically structured. This allows analyses in different levels of detail. The hierarchical structures are described in a simple and clear way in order to reach a logical, hierarchical structure. By repeatedly applying simple rules, high complexity can be described and handled.
The original contribution to knowledge, achieved through this research study, is the combination of these three main characteristics in the new planning method. Especially the strict separation of Processes, Resources and Objects, the way of integrating these three separated Models and the way of modelling hierarchical structures are the original contribution of the author.
In a description of the new method, both the theoretical concept and the developed software program are introduced and explained by using an example. Some analyses which are generated for the given example are shown at the end of the description section.
Date of Award | Feb 2001 |
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Original language | English |