Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to attempt to integrate manufacturing system analysis to obtain system-wide optimized solutions and to increase the level of comprehensiveness of the manufacturing system modelling and to develop method of characterization of manufacturing systems based on its structure. Design/methodology/approach -Elements constituting the manufacturing plant and the interactions between them have been identified through a literature survey and have been represented by graph-based model. The matrix models and the variable permanent function models are developed for carrying out decomposition, characterization and the total analysis. Findings -Structural patterns and combination sets of subsystems interacting in various ways have been recognized as capabilities of manufacturing system in different performance dimensions. The permanent function of the manufacturing system matrix has been proposed as a systematic technique for structural analysis of manufacturing system. Also, the terms of permanent multinomial characterize the manufacturing systems uniquely and are highly useful for computational storage, retrieval, communication as well as analysis of the structural information of manufacturing system.Research limitations/implications -The structure-based characterization technique developed has the potential of aiding the ongoing research activities in the field of benchmarking, and business process reengineering. The graph theory-based methodology will serve as a framework to develop composite performance measures building on the performance measures of the individual elements of the manufacturing system graph in various dimensions. Practical implications -Through the use of proposed methodology, a manufacturing manager will be able to make better informed decisions towards organizational efforts of improving the productivity and speed. For aiding several decisions, different "what-if" scenarios may be generated with several structural modifications. Originality/value -This graph theory-based methodology is a novel mechanism to seamlessly integrate manufacturing system giving way to system wide optimization. The paper is an attempt to address the need for comprehensive and integrated analysis of the manufacturing system.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of restructuring in the manufacturing system at the conceptual stage using graph theoretic model. Design/methodology/approach -Some restructuring decisions are conceptualized which reflect the aim of the organization to gradually evolve the manufacturing system towards a leaner structure. This is achieved by way of defining simplified procedures so that lesser hindrance in terms of cycles of interactions is encountered. The restructuring decisions are represented by five restructured configurations of the manufacturing system, through gradual removal of appropriate interaction links. The graph theoretic models are developed for original configuration and each of the new restructured configurations and the resulting structural characterization information is used to compare the structure of restructured configurations with the original configuration. The value of the coefficient of dissimilarity of each of the new configurations with respect to the original configuration is obtained to have a quantitative estimate of the simplification that may be achieved by different contemplated restructuring decisions. Findings -The present work shows that the restructuring decisions can be represented by different configurations in the form of schematic diagrams involving minor changes in the interaction structure among subsystems of the manufacturing system. The quantitative analysis using coefficient of dissimilarity for restructuring decisions indicated that there are varying levels of impact created by five comparable restructuring decisions considered in the study. The findings have a potential to guide the restructuring efforts by identifying a focus area that can produce greater impact of restructuring.Research limitations/implications -The findings are valid for a particular case manufacturing organization which does not involve itself in extensive design activity. The study is based on the assumption that the schematic diagram and graph theoretic model captured all the relevant influencing factors of the manufacturing system. Practical implications -The study provides an easy to use methodology for the practical decision makers in manufacturing industry striving to improve the performance of their organization. It can provide the analysis of restructuring decisions at the conceptual stage itself without the necessity of disturbing the normal functioning of the organization. There is a scope for identifying focus areas where the restructuring may yield comparatively greater dividends. Originality/value -The study of restructuring by representing it in the form of changes in interactions among subsystems of a manufacturing system and investigation of the impact of such restructuring efforts at the conceptual stage using graph theoretic model has been carried out for the first time.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of graph theoretic structural modeling for assessing the possible reduction in complexity of the work flow procedures in an organization due to lean initiatives. A tool to assess the impact of lean initiative on complexity of the system at an early stage of decision making is proposed. Design/methodology/approach First, the permanent function-based graph theoretic structural model has been applied to understand the complex structure of a manufacturing system under consideration. The model helps by systematically breaking it into different sub-graphs that identify all the cycles of interactions among the subsystems in the organization in a systematic manner. The physical interpretation of the existing quantitative methods linked to graph theoretic methodology, namely two types of coefficients of dissimilarity, has been used to evolve the new measures of organizational complexity. The new methods have been deployed for studying the impact of different lean initiatives on complexity reduction in a case industrial organization. Findings The usefulness and the application of new proposed measures of complexity have been demonstrated with the help of three cases of lean initiatives in an industrial organization. The new measures of complexity have been proposed as a credible tool for studying the lean initiatives and their implications. Research limitations/implications The paper may lead many researchers to use the proposed tool to model different cases of lean manufacturing and pave a new direction for future research in lean manufacturing. Practical implications The paper demonstrates the application of new tools through cases and the tool may be used by practitioners of lean philosophy or total quality management to model and investigate their decisions. Originality/value The proposed measures of complexity are absolutely new addition to the tool box of graph theoretic structural modeling and have a potential to be adopted by practical decision makers to steer their organizations though such decisions before the costly interruptions in manufacturing systems are tried on ground.

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