A Tool for Assessing Reconfigurability of Distributed Manufacturing Systems

In recent years, a large number of approaches to developing distributed manufacturing systems have been proposed. One of the principles reasons for these development has been to enhance the reconfigurability of a manufacturing operation; allowing it to readily adapt to changes over time. However, there has only been a limited assessment of the resulting reconfigurability properties and hence it remains inconclusive as to whether a distributed manufacturing system design approach does in fact improve reconfigurability. This chapter represents part of a study that investigates this issue. It proposes an assessment tool-the so called "Design Structure Matrix" as a means of assessing the modularity of elements in a manufacturing system. (Modularity has been shown to be a key characteristic of a reconfigurable manufacturing system.) The use of the Design Structure Matrix is illustrated in assessing a robot assembly cell designed on distributed manufacturing system principles. © 2006