Integration of Process Planning and Scheduling in the Manufacturing Sector to Enhance Productivity – a Case study of Developing Countries

Abstract

This thesis describes research carried out to investigate and address the problems associated with integration of process planning and scheduling through collaboration between diverse functions within manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Collaboration is an emerging necessity for functions of manufacturing companies in developing countries and has been influenced by the evolving need for gathering segmented groups with diverse knowledge and experience in developing new solutions to support addressing complex problems in a domain. Use of new technologies, to some extent, assists interaction and collaboration between segregated functions. This approach has been a feasible solution for real-time communication in virtual environment, however, functional boundaries influence the recognition of the problem-related factors affecting different functions in a domain and results in conflicts of perspectives and ineffective interaction between functions. The study carried out here investigated the limitations of existing approaches to manufacturing with a view to engaging segregated functions by integration of process planning and scheduling functions and thereby develop a new approach to address a key manufacturing company’s complex problem. Consequently, this thesis addresses the research question “How do we minimise the limitations to existing manufacturing approaches which integrate process planning and scheduling in developing countries?”. In doing so, this research brings together current literature on manufacturing systems and empirical evidence to investigate the factors that influence the effectiveness of integration of process planning and scheduling through collaborations with different functions. Review of the existing approaches to integration of process planning and scheduling and the limitations of each approach shows that the effectiveness of this integration has not been fully achieved. This resulted in developing, refining and validating a new approach to integration of process planning and scheduling which was applied in different manufacturing companies. The study resulted in significant contributions to knowledge and benefits for the manufacturing companies involved. A key contribution is development of a new approach to integration of process planning and scheduling called EC-FIKT which emphasises Effective Communication through Facilitated Information and Knowledge Transfer. The applications of EC-FIKT in the field suggest that it eliminates some of the main deficiencies of well-known approaches to integration of process planning and scheduling, and which brings additional benefits to manufacturing companies. The research has also identified areas where there is significant scope for further research and investigation.