Joint optimization of process design and operational policies

Many traditional process improvement techniques focus on process design optimization without accounting for interactions between the process structure and operational policies used in during the process execution. This paper elaborates a mathematical programming model for simultaneous optimization of the process structure and process execution policies. The process optimization is considered as a part of multi-stage process improvement initiative what includes identification of process improvement options and their quantitative evaluation. The process design optimization is domain independent while process execution policies are problem area specific. In this paper, capacity planning policies for manufacturing processes are considered. The model is evaluated using an educational case study on manufacturing process optimization with increasing customer demand.