Towards a learning curve theory for batch production

Chatzimichali, Anna; Tourassis, Vasilis

Abstract

Consumer attitudes and fashion trends often impose severe constraints in manufacturing. When market needs for varied product designs lead to product competition for a place in the production schedule, batch size and available production time are depressed. Due to frequent set- ups and retooling, quality issues arise that hold back the line from a full ramp up. Consequently, the major advantage of quality through learning in mass production is often compromised. In this paper, we stipulate that in batch production the process of industrial learning becomes more complex and thus the archetypal exponential or power curve is not sufficiently rich to describe it. Specifically, we demonstrate that the learning phenomenon appears in double guise: both within and between batches. Actual production data from the fashion-conscious ceramic tile industry provide sufficient support for our premise about the dynamic nature of learning in batch production. © 2008 IEEE.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 2008 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, IEEM 2008
• Start Date: Dec 8, 2008
• End Date: Dec 11, 2008
• Acceptance Date: Jun 1, 2008
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2008
• Deposit Date: Sep 25, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 25, 2018
• Print ISSN: 2157-3611
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 354-358
• ISBN: 9781424426294
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/IEEM.2008.4737890
• Keywords: learning curves, batch production, tile manufacturing
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/999305
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1109/IEEM.2008.4737890
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : 2008 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management
• Contract Date: Sep 25, 2018