A production scheduling simulation model for improving production efficiency

A real manufacturing system of an electronic company was mimicked by using a simulation model. The effects of dispatching rules and resources allocations on performance measures were explored. The results indicated that the dispatching rules of shortest processing time (SPT) and earliest due date are superior to the current rule of first in first out adopted by the company. A new combined rule, the smallest quotient of dividing shortest remaining processing time (SRPT) by SPT (SRPT/SPT_Min), has been proposed and demonstrated the best performance on mean tardiness time under the current resources situation. The results also showed that using fewer resources can increase their utilization, but it increases the risk of delivery tardiness as well, which in turn will damage the organization’s reputation in the long run. Some suggestions for future work were presented