An Adaptable Scheduling Algorithm for Flexible Flow Lines

Robert J. Wittrock
Additional contact information
Robert J. Wittrock: IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York

Operations Research, 1988, vol. 36, issue 3, 445-453

Abstract: Consider a manufacturing line that produces parts of several types. Each part must be processed by at most one machine in each of several banks of machines. This paper presents an algorithm that schedules the loading of parts into such a line. The objective is primarily to minimize the makespan and secondarily to minimize queueing. The problem is decomposed into three subproblems and each of these is solved using a fast heuristic. The most challenging subproblem is that of finding a good loading sequence, and this is addressed using workload concepts and an approximation to dynamic programming. We make several extensions to the algorithm in order to handle limited storage capacity, expediting, and reactions to system dynamics. The algorithm was tested by computing schedules for a real production line, and the results are discussed.

Keywords: 581; production; scheduling; heuristic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1988
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/opre.36.3.445 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:oropre:v:36:y:1988:i:3:p:445-453

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Operations Research from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().