Optimal Just-in-Time Schedules for Flexible Transfer Lines

International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 137-154, April 1994

18 Pages Posted: 12 May 2008 Last revised: 3 Apr 2009

See all articles by Wieslaw Kubiak

Wieslaw Kubiak

University of Toronto

Suresh Sethi

University of Texas at Dallas - Naveen Jindal School of Management

Abstract

Flexible transfer lines or mixed-model assembly lines are capable of diversified small-lot production due to negligible switch-over costs. With these lines, it is possible to implement just-in-time (JIT) production, which involves producing only the necessary parts in the necessary quantities at the necessary times. The problem of sequencing flexible transfer lines according to the JIT philosophy can be formulated as a nonlinear integer programming problem. Heuristic algorithms to solve the problem have appeared in the literature. In this paper, we show that the problem can be explicitly reduced to an assignment problem. Thus, we provide an efficient algorithm for an optimal solution to the JIT sequencing problem.

Keywords: just-in-time production, flexible transfer lines, mixed-model assembly lines, assignment problem,JIT production system

JEL Classification: M11, C61

Suggested Citation

Kubiak, Wieslaw and Sethi, Suresh, Optimal Just-in-Time Schedules for Flexible Transfer Lines. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 137-154, April 1994, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1128745 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1128745

Wieslaw Kubiak

University of Toronto ( email )

105 St George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8
Canada

Suresh Sethi (Contact Author)

University of Texas at Dallas - Naveen Jindal School of Management ( email )

800 W. Campbell Road, SM30
Richardson, TX 75080-3021
United States

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