Littlefield Technology
The Experience
1. There was a specific pattern for the customer demand
• Slow at the beginning (day 1 ' day 16)
• Grow at a linear rate (day 17 ' day 122)
o Closely monitor the number of kits queued for each station and the machine utilization rate
o Actions must be taken promptly when the number of kits queued for any station is above the average acceptance level or the machine utilization rate is about to reach maximum capacity for a consecutive period of time. In the last simulation, actions were not taken promptly due to the communication process and procedure.
• Reach the peak and stabilize (day 123 ' day 196).
• Gradually decline over time (day 197 ' day 268)
o Sell excess capacity (machines) at the end to increase cash flow
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2. Inventory level
• Must be low
• High inventory level has a negative impact on the cash flow
• Inventory level is related to the total lead time. It is because an order does not leave the factor until all 60 kits in the order are completed.
3. Bottleneck
• Station 1 is the bottleneck
Rationale for Decisions Made
|Day |Parameter |New Value |
|51 |station 1 machine count |2 |
|137 |station 1 machine count |3 |
|171 |station 3 machine count |2 |
|173 |station 2 scheduling rule |pri4 |
|182 |station 2 scheduling rule...
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