Integrated quality and production logistics analysis of closed loop manufacturing systems

This paper presents a method for the integrated evaluation of quality and production logistics performance of closed loop manufacturing systems, where statistical quality control is performed. Recently, integrated quality and productivity performance measurement techniques have been proposed only for open flow lines, showing the benefits of integrated towards isolated approaches. This paper extends the applicability of previous methods to closed loop systems. Token based production control policies, such as CONWIP, can be also studied with this new model. Numerical tests prove that the technique is both accurate in capturing the system behavior and computationally efficient. The method is used to derive new insights on the system dynamics, leading to practices to support the improved design and operation of closed loop systems.