ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the design of the experimental method to test the hypotheses and to study the relationships between demand variability, loading and routing objectives, the machine flexibility, tool magazine capacity limitation, and flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) characteristics. To aid in the analysis and for hypotheses testing, an experimental FMS and its environment were designed to emulate a FMS and conditions found in practice. The FMS configuration and data sets are developed using available information on FMS. The data sets chosen impose variable requirements on the FMS over the planning horizon. Hence, the results will be robust in that they were obtained from analyzing many replications of the short run requirements of the FMS. The difference between utilizing FMS efficiently or not depends on the inventory carried to satisfy the due date performance. A system which satisfies due date performance with lower inventory is regarded as a more efficient system.
