ISE 552 Design and Control of Production and Service Systems

3 Credit Hours

Basic terminology and techniques for the control of production and service systems including economic order quantity models; stochastic inventory models; material requirements planning; Theory of Constraints; single and mixed model assembly lines; and lean manufacturing. Emphasis on mathematical models of the interaction between limited capacity and stochastic variability through the use of queueing models to describe system behavior.

Prerequisite

This course will assume a familiarity with basic concepts of probability and statistics at the level of ST370 (Probability and Statistics for Engineers) and ST371 (Introduction to Probability and Distribution Theory), as well as basic engineering mathematics.

Course Objectives

In order to achieve the flexible, cost-effective manufacturing systems required to survive in today’s volatile, global markets, a thorough understanding of the basic dynamics of factories is essential. This course focuses on understanding the behavior of manufacturing plants and service systems through a thorough, generalizable and fundamental understanding of the factors affecting their behavior. We do this by discussing the basic techniques of production and inventory control in use in industry today, and then focusing on material flow through the plant to examine a number of alternative approaches. The unifying theme is the use of stochastic models to develop an understanding of the interplay between limited capacity and stochastic variability in defining the performance of production and service systems.

Course Requirements

The course will be graded based on a midterm (30% ), a comprehensive final (35%), homework (15%) and case studies (20%). The homework is designed to reinforce and supplement the material covered in lectures, and as such forms an integral part of the course. The purpose of the case studies is to expose you to open-ended, ill-structured real-world applications of the concepts and methods learned in class. There will be one to two case studies throughout the semester, on which you will work in groups of three. Each case study will require a formal technical report that will be graded on organization and presentation as well as technical content.

Textbook

Hopp, W. J., Spearman, M. L., Factory Physics (3rd Edition), McGraw-Hill (2008).

Updated: 1/4/2020