Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems : From Design to Implementation

This book develops innovative techniques from operational research and management science for the design and implementation of a reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS), and subsequently analyzes and assesses their performance.

A reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is a paradigm that can address many of the challenges posed by the modern market. Accordingly, substantial research is now being conducted on RMS, focusing on various levels of decision-making (strategic, tactical and operational). However, as a relatively new research area, there are still only very few books and articles available on reconfigurable manufacturing system design and management.

In addition to filling that gap, this book provides a forum for investigating, exchanging ideas on, and disseminating the latest advances in the broad area of RMS applications in today’s industry. Gathering contributions by experts from academia, industry and policy-making, it represents an essential contribution to the existing literature on manufacturing and logistics in general and industry 4.0 in particular.

Lyes Benyoucef received the Ph.D. degree in Operations Research from the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, Grenoble, France, in 2000 and the Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches degree from University of Metz, Metz, France, in 2008. Since September 2011, he is full professor at PolyTech Marseille. Before joining PolyTech Marseille, he was a research associate at INRIA (The French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control). His research interests include modelling, performance evaluation, simulation and optimization of reconfigurable manufacturing systems, supply chains networks and E-sourcing technologies. He is author/co-author of over 120 publications including over 35 journal articles in leading journals of related field, 10 book chapters and 75 articles in international conferences. Dr. Benyoucef has rich industrial application experiences with European industries. He guest-edit two books with springer series in advances manufacturing respectively, ‘Applications of Multi-criteria and Game Theory Approaches: Manufacturing and Logistics’ in 2014 and ‘Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Networked Manufacturing Enterprises Management’ in 2010. He is involved in the European projects GROWTH-ONE (Optimization methodologies for Networked Enterprises) for the strategic design of supply chain networks, GROWTH thematic network TNEE on extended enterprises, French-German GrailChem (Green Rail Freight Transport for Chemical Goods) and FP6-NoE I*PROMS on innovative and intelligent machines, and production systems.