The Overlooked Dependencies of Material Flows on Quality and Quality Assurance

Abstract

The flow of materials is a major constituent of in-plant logistics and similar factors govern resource requirements and material flows. In particular, quality factors and the configuration of the quality assurance -the inspections' system. Nonetheless, no study considers the association between and the dependencies of material flows on quality levels and the configuration of the inspections' system. The configuration of the inspections' system affect the structure of the material flow network by adding nodes -inspection stations, to it and changing the paths, accordingly. In addition, the quality levels, the configuration of the inspections' system, and inspection error rates significantly affect the volumes of material flows. These effects are quantified, demonstrated and discussed in this study.