Cellular Versus Functional Layouts Under a Variety of Shop Operating Conditions*
通过排队论和仿真模型，研究了在不同操作环境下单元式布局相比功能式布局的优势，发现单元式布局在所有环境中均显著缩短了系统平均时间和在制品水平。
ABSTRACT This paper addresses the suitability of cellular manufacturing under a variety of operating conditions. Queueing theoretic and simulation models of cellular and functional layouts are developed for various shop operating environments to investigate several factors believed to influence the benefits associated with a cellular manufacturing layout. The queueing models show how operations overlapping, which is more practical with a cellular layout, becomes more beneficial as the lot size increases. The simulation models are developed to study the performance of cellular and functional layouts in a wide variety of operating environments by varying the levels of four factors: (1) the degree to which natural part families occur, (2) the number of operations required to process the parts, (3) the processing times of the parts at each machine, and (4) the lot size. Two response variables are used to measure shop performance: the average time spent by a batch in the system, and the average work‐in‐process level. Statistically significant reductions in the average time in the system and average work‐in‐process measures were detected for the cellular layouts in all the operating environments studied.