THE ALGORITHMS OF BUFFERS HANDLING IN CAR SEQUENCING PROBLEM PRESENTED ON AN ACTUAL PRODUCTION LINE

Abstract

The article presents a problem of sequencing a multiversion and multiassortment car production. In particular, the paper focuses on car sequencing in paint shop. An issue of so-called Car Sequencing Problem, widely considered in the literature, is discussed. But it is also noted that the issue presented by researchers is only a reduced problem in comparison with the problem, which occurs in real automotive production. Thus, a new approach to original Car Sequencing Problem is proposed. The presented approach extends the original problem to problem in production line equipped with buffers. This problem is called as Car Sequencing Problem with Buffers. Therefore, firstly, in order to show, how complicated is the real sequencing problem, the article focuses on the issue of buffers construction. In addition, various types of buffer warehouses, used most often in paint shops, are presented. The next section of the article shows, what is the role of use the buffers in production systems both for production process, as well as for sequencing process. At the end of the paper some algorithms to handle selected type of buffers are discussed and the research results are presented.