Understanding synchronizability of manufacturing networks: A multi-method study on structural network properties

Manufacturing systems exhibit two types of synchronization phenomena: logistics and physics. Quantifying synchronization measures for both types have been suggested and it has been shown that both types of synchronization are correlated to the logistics performance of the manufacturing system. Previous studies have indicated that structural properties of the manufacturing network might be central influencing factors triggering synchronization emergence. Synchronizability is a network property widely studied in the complex networks field. It is a common measure to evaluate the stability of synchronization in networks based on its structural properties. The aim of this paper is to explore synchronizability in manufacturing for the first time in order to better understand the impact of structural properties of a network on the emerging synchronization phenomena. We apply a multi-method investigation by triangulating a profound literature analysis, a two-stage discrete-event simulation study and an empirical data analysis of feedback data from industrial practice. Our findings show that synchronizability relates positively to physics and negatively to logistics synchronization. Based on these findings we present first considerations towards a synchronization-oriented design and control of manufacturing systems.