| dc.description.abstract | Closeness to natural resources like minerals, a long coastal line, and an unusual large access to waterpower has made placement of manufacturing facilities for the process and semi-process industry in Norway beneficial. On the other hand, it is a high cost country and it is thus very important to maintain the competitive advantage over countries with lower costs. In order to do so, it is necessary for the Norwegian companies to be efficient, responsive and to continuously improve.
This thesis has studied materials management in a complex job shop environment in the semi-process industry, and is conducted as a part of the MIX project. The semi-process company Pipelife Norge AS manages the MIX project, and is the case company for this thesis. The main objective has been to find a materials management solution that improves the material flow between the warehouse and the shop floor in a complex environment. This was boiled down to the following \gls{pf}:
PF: How can the materials management in and surrounding a complex job shop environment be organized to sustain or improve a short throughput time and low WIP levels?
The complexity in the process environment is a result of manufacturing inputs from raw materials, bought semi-finished goods, self-produced semi-finished goods from other departments within the company, combined with complex products, mixed layout, and a high variety. An analysis or mapping tool developed for material management in a complex job shop environment does not exist, nor does the literature provide a clear link between the three core topics material flow, process type, and inventory management. This study contributes by identifying factors of improvement in such system and creating a link between the core topics.
The research has been conducted as a combined literature and case study. The literature study resulted in a theoretical framework that presents the goals for material flow, inventory placement, inventory retrieval, and characteristics of the complex job shop. This framework was the basis for the discussion of the research questions (RQs), which are as follows:
RQ1: What characterizes a complex job shop environment and which methods can be used to improve its material flow?
RQ2: Which factors are important when evaluating the inventory management in a complex job shop environment?
RQ3: How will a new strategy for inventory management influence the material flow in the case company?
The complex job shop's characteristics were found to have a wider range and fewer constraints than the classic job shop. This wide range of characteristics complicate the material flow internally and to and from the connecting departments. To improve the material flow in a complex job shop environment, it was found through a literature study that a CM supported by spaghetti diagrams and process diagrams were suitable.
The factors important to consider when reviewing the inventory locations are space utilization, fulfillment time, and the extent to which re-warehousing must be done. When reviewing the retrieval of items from the warehouse to a complex job shop department, the factors important to consider are flexibility, efficiency and creation of WIP. By considering and bettering these factors, the material flow will become more unified and more efficient.
To answer the PF, a proposed concept was developed for the complex job shop in the case company. The analysis of the CM resulted in a future state CM with a more unified material flow, more digitalization of the information flow, rearrangement of warehouse control areas, a new buffer solution that reduces the amount of WIP on the shop floor, and a division between product groups in the warehouse to simplify control. With this future state CM, the core topics has attained shared goals that are helpful towards a more unified system.
This new strategy for retrieving and assigning items in the warehouse can decrease the level of WIP on the shop floor in the complex job shop, which can lead to increased material flow efficiency. | en |
