Production Systems Design (PSD)
PSD provides a practical understanding of how high-performance production systems can be systematically analysed, designed, and improved using methods from Lean, holistic production systems, continuous improvement (CIP), and simulation.
Objectives and Content
The aim of the course is to develop a holistic understanding of production systems as interconnected sociotechnical systems and to improve them in a targeted manner. Students learn to model value streams and systematically analyse waste, variability, overburden, and bottlenecks. Based on these analyses, appropriate design measures are derived and evaluated with regard to their effects on economic factors such as inventories, lead times, utilization, and performance. Topics include key Lean Management methods, fundamental relationships in production systems, buffer sizing, capacity balancing, and approaches to production planning and control. Modern tools such as discrete-event simulation and examples from industrial practice complement the methodological foundations.
Core topics
- Structure, objectives, and interdependencies of production systems
- Holistic production systems and Lean
- Waste, variability, and overburden
- Fundamental relationships in production systems and Factory Physics
- Value stream mapping and value stream design
- Bottleneck analysis, capacity balancing, and buffer sizing
- Production planning and control
- Quality management and error prevention
- Maintenance strategies and TPM
- Continuous improvement
- Discrete-event simulation
Relevance and Motivation
Increasing product variety, volatile demand, shorter product life cycles, and growing cost pressure pose major challenges for manufacturing companies. Optimizing individual processes in isolation is often insufficient, as changes can affect inventories, lead times, utilization, delivery reliability, and the productivity of the entire system. Engineers therefore require a sound understanding of these interdependencies. GPS provides the ability to analyse production systems holistically, systematically select improvement measures, and evaluate their effects on a sound basis. These competencies are particularly relevant for roles in Industrial Engineering, production planning, Lean Management, process optimization, and operational production management.
Course Details
- Schedule: Winter semester
- Format: Lecture (2 contact hours/week) and exercise (2 contact hours/week), 4 contact hours/week in total, 150 hours of workload, 5 CP
- Assessment: 60-minute written examination in German
