Bottleneck detection of complex manufacturing systems using a data-driven method

Bottlenecks within a production line significantly affect system productivity. Most current bottleneck detection schemes focus on the long-term bottleneck detection problem using an analytical or simulation model. Furthermore, these studies are restricted to serial tandem lines only. This research focuses on extending the newly developed data-driven method for throughput bottleneck detection from a serial line to a manufacturing system with a complex layout. Within these complex systems, two specific layouts are considered: the concurrent process and the closed-loop feedback process. The method is verified using simulation case studies. An industrial case study is examined to demonstrate the practicality of this approach and to validate the efficiency of the proposed bottleneck detection method.