A framework for the design of a Reconfigurable and Mobile Manufacturing System

International audienceToday production systems, plants and supply chains are optimized for a one-site (one implantation) configuration and for massproduction. For some products, the shipping costs from the manufacturing site to the end user site can have a significant impacton the total cost of the product. In such a case, the ability to manufacture close to the end user is a valuable alternative. Theframework we propose was tested on a real industrial case in the solar energy field. The company producing the solar fieldswanted to face the twofold objectives of a reconfigurable manufacturing system able to handle a huge variety of changes: thatdifferent geographical sites, a high variability in demand, etc. and a robust mobile system that can move from one manufacturinglocation to another one without performance loss