Ashutosh Kolhatkar

Anand Pandey

Abstract

The ever-changing, dynamic situation in discrete manufacturing poses several constraints on the effective utilization of resources. It becomes critical to optimize the outcome based on customer needs. Due to the variety and complexity of operations, there are a number of differences when compared with mass or flow-type industries. This has a vital impact on performance monitoring, workforce skills, and the level of automation. The tooling industry is a perfect example of discrete manufacturing. Aside from the challenges of discrete manufacturing, it must contend with high-cost machines, skill and competency requirements, and the uncertainty of non-uniform cycles, project load fluctuation, tooling variety, and so on. The paper elaborates on these challenges and deliberates on various interlinked aspects. It also recommends major areas to look into for overcoming the challenges of increasing customer demands, machine performance, competency, and cash flow management.

Keywords- Discrete Manufacturing, Job shop, Tooling industry