Modern production concepts can be considered as an essential field of economics nowadays. They help to give valuable insights and thus provide important competitive advantages. There is a broad variety of new approaches to Production Planning and Control (PPC), Just-in-Time (JIT), Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS), Flexible Automation (FA), Automated Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS), Total Quality Control (TQC), and Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), all of which are indispensable cornerstones in this context. This book presents in a condensed and easy-to-comprehend form the different contributions of a group of internationally recommended scientists. The varied approaches to modern production concepts are not only based on theoretical foundations but also go one step further in that they present the implementation of these concepts and methods in detail. This close link with practical aspects will help to illuminate the theoretical material for researchers and students in universities. The book will be of major importance for practitioners involved in solving everyday industrial problems. The interdisciplinary nature of these contributions will help to create a new and valuable perspective on the field of production concepts.

I: Production Planning and Control

1. Constitutive Aspects
A Theoretical Basis for the Rational Formation of Production Planning and Control (PPC) Systems
Comparison of Two Production Logistics Concepts
Multi-Period Production Planning and Managerial Accounting
Flexibility of Production Control Systems
A Quantitative Measure for Flexibility
Applications of Operations Research in Hierarchical Production Planning
2. Aspects and Elements of Production Planning and Control (PPC)-Systems
Hierarchical Approach to Production Planning and Scheduling: The Case of a Mosaic Tile Plant
Operational Control of Automated PCB Assembly lines
A Framework for Developing Production Control Systems: A Case in Coffee Roasting/Distributing
The Impact of Forecast Errors in Multistage Production Systems
Integrated Manufacturing Planning
Alternatives for MRP
A Widely Acclaimed Method of Load-Oriented Job Release and its Conceptual Deficiencies
3. Just-in-Time (JIT)
JIT in a Low Volume, Hi-Tech Production Environment
A Study of JIT Application under Stochastic Demand and Supply Arrival
A Comprehensive Study of Quality Management Practices in JIT and Non-JIT Firms
Trade-off between Production and Inventory Costs with Respect to a Given Demand Situation
4. Inventory Problems
Combined Optimization of Safety Stocks and Processing Lead Times in Multi-Stage Production Systems
On the Commonality Problem in Multi-Stage Inventory Control Systems
Effect of the Standardization of the Hierarchy Parts Structure of a Product (SHPSP) on Production Ordering and Inventory Levels
A Stochastic Model for In-Process Inventory
An Inventory Model with Lateral Transshipments
5. Scheduling Problems
A Flexible Decision Support Framework for Production Scheduling
The Leitstand - A New Tool for Decentral Production Control
Scheduling with Alternative Process Plans
Scheduling and Resource Allocation Problems in Some Flow Type Manufacturing Processes
Intelligent Control of Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Event Graphs for Modeling and Evaluating Modern Production Systems
Scheduling a Work Conserving Queue with Deadlines: Minimizing the Cost of Getting the Work Done on Time
Analytical and Simulation Techniques Used to Gain Insight into Multi Product Machine Shop Control
II: Production as a Competitive Weapon
6. General Concepts
World Class Manufacturing in the 1990s: Integrating JIT, TQC, FA, and TPM with Worker Participation
Time-Based Competition: Speeding New Product Development
Concurrent Life-Cycle Engineering for the Optimization of Products, Systems, and Structures
7. Designing New Production Systems
Strategic Formation of Manufacturing Cells
Scale, Scope or Division of Labour: Coping with Volume, Variety and Variability in Manufacturing
Performance Evaluation of Flexible Manufacturing Systems with Starving
Non Delay - Revisited
A Heuristic Approach to FMS Process Planning
A Review of Research on AGVS Vehicle Management
Flexible Assembly and Shortest Queue Problems
A Quantitative Model for the Analysis of Distribution Network Scenario's
8. Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM)
Systematic Development and Implementation of CIM Systems
New Approaches to CIM Specification
New Looks on CIMS Modelling
Design of Interfactory Computer Network Interconnection
List of Contributors
List of Sponsors.