Effect of a Setup without Machine Stop in a Multi-item Process Production System

Recently, due to the diversification of market needs, production plants are shifting to multi-item small-volume production. However, frequent item switching in a single facility increases the setup time, resulting in a decrease in the production rate or the operational ratio of facilities. In this study, we consider a process production scheduling for a factory with a long setup time that produces multiple variants of garbage bags. In the experiment, several item-switching patterns were set on the basis of actual examples, and the influence of the differences in the setup method in continuous production of difficult-to-process products on the production time and setup time was investigated. Based on the comparison to the conventional production schedule, it is possible to improve the production time and setup time without increasing the loss by changing the setup method.