Synchronization Measures in Job Shop Manufacturing Environments

The optimal synchronization of the material flow in a job shop appears to be a prerequisite to ensure the constant availability of resources at the manufacturing systems. Synchronization has been extensively studied in many disciplines (physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, etc.). However, research on the presence of synchronization in manufacturing systems is still sparse and it is not yet possible to fully evaluate the effects of synchronization on performance. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a common procedure for measuring and quantifying synchronization in job shop manufacturing. This article aims to do so by presenting two distinct quantification and visualization methods for synchronization and applying them to real production feedback data from job shop manufacturers.