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Scheduling a manufacturing system can be one of the most complex tasks in managing an operation. Planning and control systems such as just in time (JIT) can aid scheduling. However, planning and control tools require a fairly stable shopfloor environment to get the best out of them. Many system designs and schedules only consider 100 per cent reliability in machines, and do not take into account random interruptions. In this paper, a simulation model was created to investigate machine and material handling system breakdown problems in a JIT‐driven flexible manufacturing system. Results show that compromises have to be made with JIT control in order to get the best system performance.

Material handling (MH) is an important facility in any manufacturing system. It facilitates the transport of in-process material from one workstation (WS) to another. MH devices do imply incurring capital costs and, therefore, minimizing their deployment without compromising on smooth material flow will ensure savings in addition to the optimal use of productive shop floor space and, avoid space cluttering. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the minimal network that connects all the WSs, therefore ensuring economic and safe manufacturing operations.

Graph theoretical approach and Prim’s algorithm for minimal spanning tree is used to evaluate the minimal span of the MH devices. The algorithm is initialized by translating the graph of WSs into a distance matrix to evaluate the minimal MH network.

The minimal length of the MH devices is evaluated for a typical case study.

The step-by step methodology explained in the manuscript acts as a good guide for practicing operational managers. The shortcoming of the methodology is that, it presumes the use of modular MH devices that will need to be reconfigured based on dynamic changes to the manufacturing system.

The methodology is explained in detail to enable the practicing managers to use it for designing their MH networks in any manufacturing system.

There is no evidence to indicate the use of minimal spanning tree algorithm for design of MH networks in a manufacturing system. This paper attempts to fill this gap.