Input-output control order release mechanism in a job-shop: how workload control improves manufacturing operations

This paper presents and evaluates an order release decision rule in a job-shop, based on the input-output control concept. The order release mechanism is part of a global decision-making scheme that includes four main decisions: accept/reject orders, define the order’s due date, release the accepted jobs and dispatch it on the shop floor. This paper also presents an evaluation of two acceptance rules, four release mechanisms, and two dispatching rules, using four levels of due date tightness. Extensive simulation experiments were performed to compare the different decision rules, using several criteria: mean tardiness, percent tardy, mean absolute deviation, mean queue time in the shop floor and in the system, and machine usage. We conclude that considering the four decisions simultaneously improve the job-shop performance, and planning both the input and the output when deciding to release a job, leads to an improvement of the operational performance measures.