The importance of integrating transport and handling activities in manufacturing planning and control systems

Abstract

Manufacturing Planning and Control Systems are essential to come true the digital revolution and implement the great product of Industry 4.0: Smart Factories or Smart Manufacturing Systems. This paper focuses on Manufacturing Planning and Control systems and highlights the importance of integrating and controlling transport and handling activities. These activities are executed by transport and handling devices and they take a critical role in the demand for more efficient manufacturing practices. They are designed to get the right material, in the right place, at the right time. The strategy to conduct the present review was established according to the main guidelines of the PRISMA methodology. The main functional areas and processes reviewed are Product Data Management, Production Planning and Control – long term, medium term and short term planning, Organizational Data Management, Inbound and Outbound Flow or Logistics. The paper indicates the importance of Product Data Management processes to represent how organizations pretend to ensure availability, supply and transport of components to execute manufacturing jobs. Organization Data Management is pointed as the area where informational about the characteristics of transport and handling devices should be managed and all properties that can affect how the respective activities must be controlled. Finally, short term planning processes and activities are also reviewed and it is also showed the importance of integrating manufacturing, transporting and handling activities – because it is part of real-time operations at shop floors and there is a clear strategy to implement just in time strategies and reduce materials on workstations. It implies some adjustment mainly in scheduling and sequencing algorithms. The allocation and sequencing processes of activities to transport and handling devices should also be considered. The impact in the remaining areas and processes, such as production monitoring is also highlighted. Finally, this paper also quantifies the potential of integrating manufacturing, handling and transporting activities for industrial organizations based on past studies – pointing a clear reduction of the manufacturing wastes, operating manufacturing costs and a higher responsiveness to market or production schedule changes. This work will contribute to results of industry-academic collaboration applying scientific research to understand and improve the management of transporting and handling processes.