Quasi-linear production systems: Optimisation of the transportation system

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the quasi-linear production systems under the following additional hypothesis: 1. 1. There exists a loading sequence which gives the input order of the parts of the system. 2. 2. There exists, for each machine, a processing sequence which gives the order for manufacturing the parts. 3. 3. The transportation system uses carts. A cart is a transportation unit able to carry one part for a machine to another. The parts are loaded on the carts before entering the system and unloaded when the manufacture of the part is finished. We give an algorithm which leads to the minimal number of carts needed in order to reach the maximal production rate, the loading and processing sequences being known. We also characterize the optimal solution in the case of equal processing times.