Efficiency and Sustainability in Manufacturing: Simultaneous Work-in-Progress Control and Energy Consumption Management

Work-in-process (WIP) control and energy consumption management are two important aspects of modern manufacturing systems. This paper proposes a bi-objective strategy that controls WIP and energy consumption simultaneously. The strategy is based on production scheduling that meet the demand for finished products while keeping WIP and energy consumption to a minimum. The control strategy avoids energy peaks throughout the operation of the manufacturing system. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated via simulation in production lines with random demand and machines' failures.