Value creation through design for scalability of reconfigurable manufacturing systems

Rapid and cost-effective scalability of the throughput of manufacturing systems is an invaluable feature for the management of manufacturing enterprises. System design for scalability allows the enterprise to build a manufacturing system to supply the current demand, and upgrade its throughput in the future, in a cost-effective manner, to meet possible higher market demand in a timely manner. To possess this capability, the manufacturing system must be designed at the outset for future expansions in its throughput to enable growths in supply exactly when needed by the market. A mathematical method that maximises the system throughput after reconfiguration is proposed, and an industrial case is presented to validate the method. The paper offers a set of principles for system design for scalability to guide designers of modern manufacturing systems.