The impact of reconfigurability on the operational performance of manufacturing systems

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current level of reconfigurability implementation and its impact on manufacturing systems’ operational performance empirically. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a questionnaire survey. Statistical analysis procedures were adopted to accomplish its objectives, namely, clustering methods based on cluster centroids. An ANOVA analysis was used to test for cluster differences among the variables. Findings The results show that the manufacturing companies surveyed can be divided into three clusters, with different levels of reconfigurability implemented. The implementation of the core characteristics of reconfigurability depends on the product’s complexity and demand variability, in terms of volume and product mix, as these have an impact on the operational performance, in terms of quality, delivery and flexibility. Research limitations/implications The data for this survey were collected from manufacturing companies based in Portugal. Therefore, the replication of this questionnaire in other countries is recommended for future research to confirm its findings. Practical implications The questionnaire developed could be used by managers to assess the level of reconfigurability of their production systems and for internal/external benchmarking. The findings may help managers to decide which core characteristics should be implemented in their manufacturing systems. Originality/value The majority of the research addressing performance issues in reconfigurable manufacturing systems has been applied to case studies. This research reports an empirical investigation using a questionnaire-based methodology to provide generalisable empirical evidence.