Abstract

Holonic Manufacturing System (HMS) adopts Arthur Koestler’s generalisation on living organisms and social organisations into a novel paradigm suitable for manufacturing industry. While the HMS paradigm has been researched on myriad technical subjects, workforce allocation is rarely attempted. In this research paper, an advisory model called Holonic Workforce Allocation Model (HWM) was developed, with the aim to reduce the impact of absenteeism and turnover in job shop environments.