Life Cycle Oriented Planning Of Changeability In Factory Planning Under Uncertainty

Abstract

Factory planning and factory operation collectively form a major part of the factory life cycle. The growing awareness of uncertainties throughout the factory life cycle is not only a consequence of recent events, but also the realization that factories are operating in an increasing turbulent environment. In factory planning, various sources of risk (e.g. location, process) can cause uncertainties due to deviations in the planning parameters (e.g. filling quantity load carrier) that affect the capacities to be dimensioned. During factory operation, sources of uncertainty (e.g. lead time, quality) expose the factory to numerous events that may disrupt their business process (e.g. machine failure). Despite these short-term and random risk events, factories are confronted with long-term change drivers (e.g. new product variants) in the course of their life cycle due to continuously rising requirements. Instead of responding reactively in case of uncertainty, it is much more appreciated to proactively prepare the factory for the uncertainties. It is the task of factory planning to gear up the factory for whatever uncertainties may occur over the factory life cycle. But the ability to change goes hand in hand with higher cost levels, either in the form of capital or operational expenditure depending on the type of changeability. Since there is a wide range of factory planning measures that allow the factory to be configured in different ways, factory operation must be considered in order to select a suitable factory type from life cycle perspective. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to integrate an approach in the sense of risk management within factory planning. Consistent factory types for coping with uncertainties are defined in order to present a way on how to position the factory in the area of tension between profitability and changeability.