Scheduling in Robotic Cells: Heuristics and Cell Design

Hichem Kamoun, Nicholas G. Hall and Chelliah Sriskandarajah
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Hichem Kamoun: Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion de Sfax, Tunisia
Nicholas G. Hall: Department of Management Sciences, 2100 New Avenue, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210-1144
Chelliah Sriskandarajah: School of Management, The University of Texas at Dallas, 2601 N. Floyd Road, Richardson, Texas 75083-0688

Operations Research, 1999, vol. 47, issue 6, 821-835

Abstract: This paper considers scheduling problems arising in robot-served manufacturing cells in which the machines are configured in a flowshop that repetitively produces a family of similar parts. We study the problem of determining the robot move cycle and the part sequence that jointly minimize the average steady-state cycle time required for the repetitive production of a minimal part set, or equivalently maximize the long-run throughput rate. Three earlier related papers provide algorithms, or proofs of intractability, for a variety of cell configurations. We use the intuition developed there to design and test simple heuristic procedures for the part sequencing problem under different robot move cycles in three-machine cells where that problem is intractable. This enables us to develop a heuristic procedure for a general three-machine cell. A methodology for extending this heuristic to four-machine cells is described and tested. Ideas for extension to even larger cells are also discussed. We also describe and test two heuristics for a cell design problem that involves partitioning machines into cells as well as determining the sequence of robot moves and parts. Finally, we provide a list of open research problems.

Keywords: production/scheduling: scheduling robot served manufacturing cells; sequencing; deterministic; multiple machine; design and computational evaluation of heuristics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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