A manufacturing network design model based on processor and worker capabilities

This paper presents an optimization methodology to design networks of manufacturing facilities producing several products under deterministic demand. The bill of materials and the operations for each product are taken into account through the use of a product-state graph. Starting from the current state of the manufacturing network, the approach considers a multi-period planning horizon. For each period it specifies the facilities to open within the set of current and potential facilities, the mission for each of the centres in the selected facilities, the equipment to be used for producing the goods, and the structure of the network. Taking human resource competencies into account, the approach selects the type of workers to use for executing the manufacturing tasks. The transfer of resources between plants is also considered. A multi-period mixed integer linear programming model is formulated, a solution method based on the addition of specialized cuts is proposed and computational results are presented.