Benefits of Skill Chaining in Production Lines with Cross-Trained Workers: An Extended Abstract

In recent decades, the shift from mass production of highly standardized products to small batch production of customized products has forced most manufacturing and service organizations to use some form of flexible capacity. One attractive form of flexible capacity is the use of agile workers that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inManufacturing & service operations management Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 17 - 20
Main Authors Oyen, Mark P. Van, Tekin, Eylem, Hopp, Wallace J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Linthicum INFORMS 01.01.2002
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
SeriesManufacturing & Service Operations Management
Subjects
Assembly lines
Costs
Efficiency
Employment
Flexible manufacturing systems
Production planning
Skills
Studies
Training
Workers
Workforce
Workloads
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Summary:In recent decades, the shift from mass production of highly standardized products to small batch production of customized products has forced most manufacturing and service organizations to use some form of flexible capacity. One attractive form of flexible capacity is the use of agile workers that shift their capacity dynamically to where it is needed. The main motives for pursuing workforce agility can be classified as improved efficiency, enhanced flexibility, increased quality, and improved culture (Hopp and Van Oyen 2001). In this paper, we concentrate on the first motive and study the logistical benefits of workforce agility.
ISSN:1523-4614
1526-5498
DOI:10.1287/msom.4.1.17.293