This course introduces students with the design and operation of manufacturing and service facilities. We present a conceptual description and classification of modern production environments and address major issues faced during the planning and control of their operation. We focus on the decomposition of the overall production planning and control problem to a number of subproblems, and the development of quantitative techniques and analytical tools for addressing the arising subproblems. The topics include (but are not limited to) assembly lines, sequencing and scheduling, flexible manufacturing systems, group technology and cellular manufacturing, and facilities planning and design.
Although the focus is on manufacturing systems, the application of the methodologies for service systems is covered as well. The students are expected to have a solid background in operations research.