A framework for evaluating production policies to improve customer responsiveness

Manufacturing systems are subject to both internal and external disruptions. As a result, production sequences which appear optimal during planning might be sub-optimal or even infeasible when implemented. We therefore consider how manufacturers can trade off anticipated completion time (makespan) against customer responsiveness when making sequencing decisions. We first define a policy as a way to control product sequencing in real time. We then present a framework for evaluating different policies to assess their impact on customer responsiveness. Finally, we demonstrate how this framework can be used to analyze the link between sequencing, lot size, and update frequency.