Simulation and optimization of production system based on fuzzy logic and quick response manufacturing

Since 1979, european and american clients had benchmarked the performance of theirs factories with those of Japanese competitors. The differences included substantially higher productivity, better quality, significantly less inventory, less space, more flexibility and much faster throughput times. Everyone knows that time is money and mangers understand the importance of quick response to customers. Lean Manufacturing techniques can be powerful in several situations, but for companies making a large variety of products with variable demand or companies making highly engineered products, Lean Manufacturing has several drawbacks. Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) can be more effective competitive strategy for companies targeting such markets, which focuses on lead time reduction. The importance of define the lead time required in an engineer-to-order company is critical in particular during the New Product Development (NPD) process. This paper presents how to apply Quick Response Manufacturing to a manufacturing industry through the previous calculation of product components Run Time using a Fuzzy Logic approach, in order to predict whether a decision will improve lead times.