Major Constraints/problems associated with Discrete and Continuous Manufacturing

Discrete Manufacturing:
The manufacturing systems dealing with assemblies have consisted of one way flows, driven by a
material requirements planning (MRP) system, with excess and redundant components, subassemblies
and assemblies discarded or sent to landfills. However, the conditions in which such systems operate are
changing. There are new forces at work, such as increased awareness of the state of the environment by
both the consumer and the producer, recycling regulations and resource conservation needs. These
changes lead to new challenges and dictate a fundamental reappraisal of the traditional manufacturing
paradigm.
Major Constraints or areas of concerns in discrete manufacturing:
1) Product quality:
a. Consists of scraps, defects and rework
2) Customer Satisfaction
a. Number of complaints received from customers
b. Number of returns
3) On-time delivery
a. On-time delivery to customer
b. On-time production
c. Schedule adherence
d. Manufacturing cycle efficiency
4) Employee morale
a. Staff turnover
b. Absenteeism
c. Lateness
d. Attitude
5) Efficiency and Utilization
a. Capacity Utilization
b. Overtime work
Demand - There are no documented and economically proven planning and scheduling mechanisms in
place to deal with item segregation.
Compared with the traditional manufacturing systems, the material flow is reversed in the item
segregation process. This necessitates additional lines to accommodate the reverse flow.
There is a tendency for item explosion to occur because of the release of multiple
subassemblies/components which constitute the assembly.
Since some assembly processes will utilize the output of item segregation, there will be an impact on
their lot sizing procedures.