what is a flexible manufacturing system fms 
a flexible manufacturing system fms is a production method that is designed to easily adapt to changes in the type and quantity of the product being manufactured machines and computerized systems can be configured to manufacture a variety of parts and handle changing levels of production 1understanding a flexible manufacturing system fms a flexible manufacturing system fms can improve efficiency and reduce production costs which are crucial concerns in the process of business development flexible manufacturing also can be a key component of a make to order strategy that allows customized products and keeps inventories low such flexibility can come with higher up front costs purchasing and installing the specialized equipment that allows for such customization may be costly compared with more traditional systems 2the concept of flexible manufacturing was developed by jerome h lemelson 1923 1997 an american industrial engineer and inventor who filed a number of related patents in the early 1950s his original design was a robot based system that could weld rivet convey and inspect manufactured goods 3lemelson did not build his system indeed when he posited it the ability to build it was still out of reach eventually however it became possible to build one and the fms debuted on factory floors in the united states and europe in the late 1960s and started to proliferate in the 1970s 2an fms may include a configuration of interconnected workstations with computer terminals that process the end to end creation of a product functions may include loading and unloading machining and assembly storing quality testing and data processing the system can be programmed to run a batch of one set of products in a particular quantity and then automatically switch over to another set of products in another quantity 2flexible manufacturing can be a key component of a make to order strategy that allows buyers to order customized products pros and cons of an fmsthe main benefit is the enhancement of production efficiency downtime is reduced because the production line does not have to be shut down to set up for a different product 1the disadvantages of an fms include its higher up front costs and the greater time required to design the system specifications for a variety of future needs specialized technicians needed to run monitor and maintain the fms also add expense however advocates of fms maintain that the increase in automation typically results in a net reduction in labor costs 2