An Investigation by Simulation of the Performance of Two Sequencing Criteria in a Job Shop of the Printing Industry (1).

This research makes a fundamental contribution to more effective manufacturing control in job shops of the printing industry, by showing the implications of changes in number of shifts, labor jurisdictional contracts and varying levels of orders on the performance of two dispatching or sequencing rules. The first come, first served and earliest due date dispatching rules are evaluated utilizing four measures of performance delivery commitments, machine utilization, labor utilization, and inventory carrying cost. The effect of a bottleneck in one machine center is also discussed.