Purpose

The performance of discrete items manufacturing systems (MS) is a primary concern of industrial firms. However, the understanding of the interrelations between performance and its key factors requires further advancements. Thus, several questions remain unanswered in the Operations and Production Management (OPM) field to understand and manage the relationship between these key factors. To address these challenges, this paper conceptualizes and examines the relevant antecedents and essential elements for the design and optimization of competitive MS.

Design/methodology/approach

First, drawing on the consolidated OPM literature, a novel conceptual model was developed incorporating the conceptual relationships essential to MS performance. Second, we conducted a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA protocol to analyze and validate the proposed conceptual model and to indicate the field’s current knowledge gaps and future research directions.

Findings

Findings validated the proposed conceptual model by establishing the complex causal interrelations among key factors that influence discrete MS performance. Moreover, we found that the operational performance of discrete MS is multidimensional and directly dependent on the variables and mechanisms associated with the production flow. Findings also demonstrated that the degree of importance of the antecedents of MS performance vary and are temporally interrelated. Lastly, the paper advances the understanding of MS by revealing the predominance of quantitative approaches (e.g., discrete events simulation and closed mathematical models) in the literature as well as an emphasis on describing these approaches rather than characterizing MS appropriately.

Research and Practical implications

This paper extends our knowledge on the operational performance challenges in discrete MS by proposing a visual, direct, and intuitive conceptual model that enables firms to better comprehend these complex challenges. This research also answers ongoing calls for investigations of the antecedents and elements of competitive MS design and optimization. Our findings show that decision-making in discrete MS is established temporally based on strategic, operational, and control definitions, influencing firms’ operational performance. Finally, since it draws on seminal OPM literature specializing in MS, this study informs scholars, industrial managers, and aid decision-making about discrete MS.

Originality/value

The first original aspect of this study lies in bridging the gaps identified in the OPM literature by providing a robust conceptual framework that highlights the key factors of operational performance in discrete MS. Its second original aspect is that it adopts different information sources in an independent and complementary way to achieve greater generalizability and robustness of the contributions.

中文翻译：

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制造系统运营绩效的关键因素：概念模型、系统文献综述和影响

目的

离散产品制造系统 (MS) 的性能是工业公司的主要关注点。然而，对性能与其关键因素之间的相互关系的理解需要进一步的进步。因此，在运营和生产管理 (OPM) 领域，要了解和管理这些关键因素之间的关系，仍有几个问题没有得到解答。为了应对这些挑战，本文对竞争性 MS 的设计和优化的相关前提和基本要素进行了概念化和研究。

设计/方法/方法

首先，利用综合的 OPM 文献，开发了一种新的概念模型，其中包含对 MS 性能至关重要的概念关系。其次，我们基于 PRISMA 协议进行了系统的文献综述，以分析和验证所提出的概念模型，并指出该领域当前的知识差距和未来的研究方向。

发现

研究结果通过在影响离散 MS 性能的关键因素之间建立复杂的因果关系来验证所提出的概念模型。此外，我们发现离散 MS 的操作性能是多维的，直接取决于与生产流程相关的变量和机制。调查结果还表明，MS 表现的前因的重要性程度各不相同，并且在时间上相互关联。最后，本文通过揭示文献中定量方法（例如，离散事件模拟和封闭数学模型）的优势以及强调描述这些方法而不是适当地表征 MS 来促进对 MS 的理解。

研究和实际意义

本文通过提出一个可视化、直接和直观的概念模型，使公司能够更好地理解这些复杂的挑战，从而扩展了我们对离散 MS 中运营绩效挑战的认识。这项研究还满足了对竞争性 MS 设计和优化的前因和要素进行调查的持续呼吁。我们的研究结果表明，离散 MS 的决策是基于战略、运营和控制定义在时间上建立的，影响公司的运营绩效。最后，由于它借鉴了专门研究 MS 的开创性 OPM 文献，因此本研究可为学者、工业管理者和有关离散 MS 的决策提供信息。

原创性/价值

本研究的第一个原始方面在于通过提供一个强大的概念框架来弥合 OPM 文献中确定的差距，该框架突出了离散 MS 中操作性能的关键因素。它的第二个原始方面是它以独立和互补的方式采用不同的信息源，以实现更大的泛化性和鲁棒性。