Factory Physics
Course Description & Objectives
FACTORY PHYSICS can be defined as “a systematic description of the underlying behavior of manufacturing systems.” Understanding factory physics enables managers and engineers to work with the natural tendencies of manufacturing systems to:
- Identify opportunities for improving existing systems.
- Design effective new systems
- Make the tradeoffs needed to coordinate policies from disparate areas.
In this short course, we will cover the fundamental concepts for describing manufacturing systems and learn a set of quantitative modeling tools to analyze and gain intuition about the behavior of a manufacturing system. These tools will include modeling techniques, metrics to be used to assess manufacturing performance (cycle time, throughput, WIP, fill rate, etc.), quantitative methods to understand the effect of various elements (such as variability, breakdowns, batching) and simple formulas to calculate these performance measures quickly.
The course will provide an introduction to the various technical tools that have been developed over the years for manufacturing management. The following details the contents of the day:
- A science of manufacturing: Defining and representing manufacturing systems; Prescriptive vs. descriptive models; Objectives, measures and control; Models and performance measures
- Factory dynamics Definitions and parameters; Simple self-benchmarking methods to assess manufacturing performance
- Variability: Variability and randomness; Causes and types of variability (processing time, arrivals, flow, breakdowns, etc.); Simple approximations for cycle time and throughput from queuing theory
- Corrupting influence of variability: The Pay Me Now or Pay Me Later Law; Buffering; Effects of serial and parallel batching
- Push Systems versus Pull Systems – another perspective on Theory of Constraints and Lean Manufacturing.
Learning Tools
- The course will involve some lecturing, but mostly consist of active and collaborative learning approaches. We will work on a case study to diagnose and analyze the problems of a manufacturing system and suggest solutions to the problems.
Course Materials
- Factory Physics, Second Edition by Hopp and Spearman (Publisher: McGraw-Hill) will be provided
Prerequisite
- Some knowledge of statistics and probability, and an open mind!
When & Where
- This course is taught for one (1) day for eight (8) hours in a regular classroom.
- Note: You must attend all 8 hours to complete the course.
COURSE TESTIMONIALS
"The instructor was extremely knowledgeable regarding production systems." Henry Kong, Raytheon.
When asked what they liked most about this course, past participants commented on the following:
- Introduction to manufacturing concepts was good
- Good overview to focus further studies
- The book, the in depth evaluation of manufacturing science, the math equations
- Analytical approach to solving cycle time, throughput etc problems
- The “MRP” system, how we calculate throughput in production. Overall, excellent materials and presentation
- Batch planning and processing. Overall processing capability
- Good classroom interaction/participation
- The teacher was really excellent as well.
Course Information
Instructor(s)
- Esma S. Gel, Department of Industrial Engineering, Arizona State University
Cost
- Please visit the following web site for the cost of classes: How To Join
- (please note that one day of class = 8 hours)
How to Register
- Please register online or contact the JACMET office at 480/727-1519.