Scheduling routine and call-in clinical appointments with revisits

This paper studies the problem of clinical appointment scheduling when taking revisits into account. We consider two classes of patients: (1) routine patients who have made an appointment weeks in advance and (2) same-day patients who call in at the very beginning of the day, before the first clinical consultation begins. After the first appointment and consultation, patients might need an additional examination and a second consultation to confirm their health status. This paper aims to create an advanced scheduling method for both routine patients and same-day patients to optimise the expected weighted sum of three performance measures: patients’ waiting time, physician’s idle time and overtime. A stochastic programme model is constructed and solved by sample average approximation and benders’ decomposition. Numerical tests show that revisits significantly affect the three performance measures; to improve the hospital system’s operation management, both scheduling of appointment times and daily workload plans are taken into account.     

The use of flowlines to simplify routing complexity in two-stage flowshops

Flexible manufacturing systems are often designed as flowshops supported by automated material handling devices that facilitate routing among any two processors of adjacent stages. This routing structure is complex, and results in excessive capital investment and costs of management. In this paper we propose a decomposition of two-stage flowshops into smaller independent flowlines that allow for unidirectional routing only. We solve optimally the problem of minimizing makespan on two parallel flowlines, by means of a Dynamic Programming algorithm (DP). Based on DP we develop lower bounds on the throughput performance of environments that consist of more than two flowlines. We present several heuristic algorithms and report their optimality gaps. Using these algorithms, we show that the decomposition of two stage flowshops with complicated routing into flowline-like designs with unidirectional routing is associated with minor losses in throughput performance, and hence significant savings in material handling costs.     

Complex assembly variant design in agile manufacturing. Part I: System architecture and assembly modeling methodology

In the distributed and horizontally integrated manufacturing environment found in agile manufacturing, there is a great demand for new product development methods that are capable of generating new customized assembly designs based on mature component designs that might be dispersed at geographically distributed partner sites. To cater for this demand, this paper addresses the methodology for complex assembly variant design in agile manufacturing. It consists in fundamental research in two parts: (i) assembly modeling; and (ii) assembly variant design methodology. This paper, the first of a two-part series, presents the assembly variant design system architecture and the assembly modeling methodology. First, a complementary assembly modeling concept is proposed with two kinds of assembly models, the hierarchical assembly model and the relational assembly model. The first explicitly captures the hierarchical and functional relationships between constituent components whereas the second explicitly captures the mating relationships at the form-feature-level. These models are complementary in the sense that each of them models only a specific aspect of assembly-related information but together they include the required assembly-related information. They are further specialized to accommodate the features of assembly variant design. As a result, two kinds of assembly models, the assembly variants model and the assembly mating graph are generated. These assembly models serve as the basis for assembly variant design which is discussed in the companion paper.     

Determination of buffer sizes for drum–buffer–rope (DBR)-controlled production systems

The present paper describes an analytical approach based on reliability analysis to determine the sizes of constraint buffer and assembly buffer in a drum–buffer–rope-controlled production system. Every machine in the system is modelled as a two-state named as up and down canonical model. Then, with these canonical models and the relationships between the feeder and fed machines, the models for determining constraint buffer and assembly buffer are constructed. To illustrate the approach's practical usefulness, a numerical example is presented. Based on the data analysis, we find that, for constraint buffer, the more feeder machines, the smaller the buffer size needed. And for assembly buffer, the more feeder machines the larger the buffer size needed. Then, two pieces of advice for the production managers to effectively use production-controlling policies are proposed.     

Strategy of Concurrent Optimization for an Assembly Sequence

An effective constraint release based approach to realize concurrent optimization for an assembly sequence is proposed. To quantify the measurement of assembly efficiency, a mathematical model of concurrency evaluation index was put forward at first, and then a technology to quantify assembly constraints was developed by application of some fuzzy logic algorithms. In the process of concurrent optimization of the assembly sequence, two kinds of constraints were involved. One was self-constraints of components, which was used to evaluate the assemble capability of components under the condition of full-freedom. Another was an assembly constraint between components represented by geometric constraints between points, lines and planes under physical restriction conditions. The concept of connection strength degree （CSD） was introduced as one efficient indicator and the value of it was evaluated by the intersection of the two constraints mentioned above. The equivalent constraints describing the connection weights between components were realized by a well designed constraints reduction, and then the connection weights based complete assembly liaison graph was applied to release virtual connections between components. Under a given threshold value, a decomposition and reconstituting strategy for the graph with the focus on high assembly concurrency was used to realize an optimized assembly concurrency evaluation index. Finally, the availability of the approach was illustrated in an example to optimize the assembly of a shift pump.     

Analysis of wafer fabrication facilities using four variations of the open queueing network decomposition model

We analyze three wafer fabrication facilities with four open queueing network decomposition models - Whitt (1983, 1985), and Bilran and Tirupati (1988), Suri >et al. (1993). In the first facility, which is located in North America, the values of cycle time and WIP inventory predicted by each model are about 10% higher than the actual values observed in the facility. The estimates are on the high side because managers and operators in the facility take special action to expedite production whenever queues become too large or small. These special actions cannot be incorporated into the open queueing network models. In the second facility, which is taken from the literature, the values of cycle time and WIP predicted by each model are about 5% higher than the values reported in the literature. An investigation at a third facility located in South-east Asia identified a common manufacturing practice that caused a model assumption to be violated. New insights into the models and directions for future research are identified. We find that two of the four open queueing network models are easy to apply and give good results for facilities like the ones studied in this paper. The other two models are complex and are likely to be better-suited for more complex facilities.     

Decomposition without aggregation for performance approximation in queueing network models of semiconductor manufacturing

Accurate and speedy forecasts of production cycle time are key components that support the operation of modern semiconductor wafer fabricators. Estimates of cycle time can be obtained via simulation, but such an approach, though common, requires significant computational investment and model maintenance. Queueing network models and approximations for their performance can provide a viable alternative. As modern semiconductor manufacturing systems exhibit largely reentrant product routing, but contain essential probabilistic routes (for metrology and rework), prior mean cycle time approximation methods are not well suited to the system structure. In this paper, we extend the decomposition without aggregation (DWOA) approach – which is tailored to systems with deterministic routing – to allow for the existence of probabilistic paths. Numerical and simulation studies are conducted with numerous practically inspired datasets to assess the quality of the resulting mean cycle time approximations. The results reveal that our approach outperforms the existing mean cycle time approximations on datasets inspired by the semiconductor industry MIMAC benchmark datasets. For example, in MIMAC dataset 1, our mean cycle time approximations exhibit an average of 10.33% error compared to 18.82% error for existing approaches.     

基于改进田口方法的轮毂装配过程质量控制研究

针对风力机轮毂装配工序的质量控制问题，结合多品种小批量生产模式的特点，提出了一种面向定位布置的轮毂装配关键工序识别与监控的方法。综合考虑轮毂装配生产中的成本因素及相对质量损失，制定装配工序的质量特性损失标准，采用改进的质量损失函数识别轮毂装配关键工序；为解决统计过程控制（SPC）方法应用于小批量生产模式的瓶颈，引入基于直觉模糊集的工序相似性分析与评定方法，通过分析工序相似性的影响因素，构建轮毂装配成组工序相似性评判指标体系及评定模型，完成工序相似性的测度。最终使用SPC方法监控管理轮毂装配关键工序，确保轮毂的装配质量。该研究为小批量生产模式中运用SPC方法管理过程质量提供了理论依据。     

Comparison of order-fulfilment performance in MTO and MTS systems with an inventory cost budget constraint

The make-to-order or make-to-stock decision is an important issue faced by firms in many industries. In the existing literature, optimisation models comparing the cost of making product to stock versus making it to order have been widely developed. Motivated by the problem faced by a machinery company, we examine the issue from a different perspective and formulate service-maximisation models with inventory cost budget constraints. We compare and analyse order-fulfilment performance measures for the two different production control systems. The goal is to identify the key influencing factors and devise a production strategy that maximises service performance subject to resource constraint. We show that the MTO production control system is preferred in the production system with low component values and long component processing times and high value and short lead time in the final assembly stage; while the MTS production control system is applicable to the production system with high component values and short component processing times and little value and long lead time in the final assembly stage.     

Modeling of thermo-physical properties for FRP composites under elevated and high temperature

A decomposition model for resin in glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites (GFRP) under elevated and high temperature was derived from chemical kinetics. Kinetic parameters were determined by four different methods using thermal gravimetric data at different heating rates or only one heating rate. Temperature-dependent mass transfer was obtained based on the decomposition model of resin. Considering that FRP composites are constituted by two phases – undecomposed and decomposed material – temperature-dependent thermal conductivity was obtained based on a series model and the specific heat capacity was obtained based on the Einstein model and mixture approach. The content of each phase was directly obtained from the decomposition model and mass transfer model. The effects of endothermic decomposition of the resin on the specific heat capacity and the shielding effect of evolving voids in the resin on thermal conductivity are dependent on the rate of decomposition. They were also described by the decomposition model; the effective specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity models were subsequently obtained. Each model was compared with experimental data or previous models, and good agreements were found.     

Real-time performance evaluation and improvement of assembly systems with Bernoulli machines and finite production runs

Extensive research has been investigated in the past several decades to evaluate the performance of manufacturing systems under rigid production mode. Based on the deployment of the new manufacturing strategies (e.g. smart manufacturing), real-time performance analysis, continuous improvement and efficient production management of flexible production systems are urgently to be investigated. Therefore, we study the problems of real-time performance evaluation and bottleneck of assembly systems in this paper. The system is assumed to have Bernoulli machines and finite production runs. We first derive the mathematical model of the system and then, derive the analytical formulas for performance evaluation of systems with three Bernoulli machines. In addition, we propose a decomposition and aggregation-based algorithm to approximate the system performances with high accuracy and computational efficiency. The idea is then extended to generalised assembly systems. Finally, the method of bottleneck analysis by using completion time bottleneck indicator is introduced and evaluated by numerical justification.     

Minimising utility work and utility worker transfers for a mixed-model assembly line

Mixed-model assembly lines (MMALs) are types of production lines that are able to respond to diversified costumers’ demand for a variety of models without holding large inventories. The effective utilisation of a mixed-model assembly line requires the determination of the assembly sequence for different models. In this paper, two objectives are considered in a sequential manner, namely minimising: (i) total utility work, which means work from an additional worker to assist an operator for completion of an assembly task; and (ii) utility worker transfer which states the move of a utility worker to a different segment of the assembly line. First, due to the NP-hard nature of the problem, three heuristic methods are proposed with the aim of minimising total utility work. Then, the solutions which are obtained from the heuristics are improved in terms of the total number of utility worker transfers via a local search based method. Furthermore, the solution approach was applied in a real life mixed model tractor assembly line. Results validated the effectiveness of sequencing approach in terms of solution quality.     

Integrated procedure of balancing and sequencing for mixed-model assembly lines: a multi-objective evolutionary approach

A mixed-model assembly line is a type of production line which is used to assemble a variety of product models with a certain level of similarity in operational characteristics. This variety causes workload variance among other problems resulting in low efficiency and line stops. To cope with these problems, a hierarchical design procedure for line balancing and model sequencing is proposed. It is structured in terms of an amelioration procedure. On the basis of our evolutionary algorithm, a genetic encoding procedure entitled priority-based multi-chromosome (PMC) is proposed. It features a multi-functional chromosome and provides efficient representation of task assignment to workstations and model sequencing. The lean production perspective recognises the U-shape assembly line system as more advanced and beneficial compared to the traditional straight line system. To assure the effectiveness of the proposed procedure, both straight and U-shape assembly lines are examined under two major performance criteria, i.e., number of workstations (or line efficiency) as static criterion and variance of workload (line and models) as dynamic criterion. The results of simulation experiments suggest that the proposed procedure is an effective management tool of a mixed-model assembly line system.     

A new decomposition algorithm for a liquefied natural gas inventory routing problem

We consider an inventory routing problem (IRP) in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain, called the LNG-IRP. Here, an actor is responsible for the LNG production and inventory management at the liquefaction plants, the routing and scheduling of a heterogeneous fleet of LNG ships, as well as the inventories and sales at the regasification terminals. Furthermore, all ports have a limited number of berths available for loading and unloading. The LNG-IRP is more complicated than many other maritime inventory routing problems because a constant rate of the cargo evaporates in the tanks each day and is used as fuel during transportation. In addition, a variable number of tanks are unloaded at the regasification terminals. We introduce a new path flow formulation for this problem arising from a novel decomposition scheme based on parts of a ship schedule, called duties. A ship schedule for the entire planning horizon can be divided into duties consisting of a visit to a liquefaction plant, then one or two visits to a regasification terminal before ending in a liquefaction plant. The solution method suggested is based on a priori generation of duties, and the formulation is strengthened by valid inequalities. The same problem was previously solved by a branch-price-and-cut algorithm for a schedule-based formulation. Computational results show that the new formulation provides tighter bounds than the previous schedule-based formulation. Furthermore, on a set of 27 benchmark instances, the proposed algorithm clearly outperforms the previous branch-price-and-cut algorithm both with regard to computational time and the number of problems solved within a 10-h time limit.     

Balancing printed circuit board assembly line systems

This paper considers the placement of components onto printed circuit boards (PCBs) using surface mount technology. Multiple automatic placement machines, a variety of PCB types and a large volume for each PCB type characterize the environment studied. The problem addressed is that of allocating and arranging the components on several placement machines, organized into one or several assembly lines, while considering a different assembly time if components are located at different feeder locations. The one assembly line problem is equivalent to balancing a multi-model assembly line where models are assembled in small batches without component rearrangement between model changes. The objective is tominimize the weighted sum of each assembly PCBcycle time, which is defined as the maximum time a PCB has to spend on each machine. We solve this problem with Lagrangian relaxation techniques. Industrial case study results are presented. We also compare the global performance of five placement machines if they are organized as a single assembly line or broken down into two or more assembly lines.     

THE PRODUCTION PLANNING OF MANY-PRODUCT ASSEMBLY OPERATIONS

SUMMARY The paper discusses planning problems which arise when different products are manufactured on several assembly lines and production has to be co-ordinated with other manufacturing centres. In a limited labour market flexible production capacity requires the transfer and retraining of existing workers.

The first section of the paper explores the simplest possible planning element which still contains enough of the essence of the problems to shed some light on the nature of a solution, This model consists of the planning of production of a single product in one location, under the supposition that teams of girls may be relinquished to (or obtained from) a labour reservoir at a penalty which corresponds to retraining costs. A production planning game based on this model is constructed, and played with teams of human planners. The game is also played by means of two types of systematic decision rules:

(.1) a linear production smoothing rule:

(.2) the optimum rule for the game, developed by dynamic programming. This permits a comparison of the efficacy of human planners in comparison to automatic decision rules.

The dynamic programming model is extended in the next part of the paper to cover a more realistic model of the situation. The results of the dynamic programming analysis are shown to be a very valuable tool for the production planning of several product types in one plant, as well as for the co-ordination of different plants.     

Material handling considerations in the FMS loading problem with full routing flexibility

This study exploits machining and routing flexibility to effectively deal with the material handling requirements resulting from a frequently changing demand mix in a manufacturing system where material handling is a bottleneck. For this purpose, the objective function of the operation and tool loading problem is selected as the minimisation of the total distance traveled by parts during their production. Versatile machines and the flexible process plans offer full routing flexibility that enable the same workpiece to be processed using alternative sequences of operations on alternative machines. Three mathematical programming (MP) models and a genetic algorithm (GA) are proposed to solve this problem. The proposed MP formulations include a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model and two mixed-integer programming (MIP) models, which offer different representations for the flexible process plans. The GA is integrated with linear programming for fitness evaluation and incorporates several adaptive strategies for diversification. The performances of these solution methods are tested through extensive numerical experiments. The MP models are evaluated on the basis of the exact solutions they yield as well as how they lend themselves for GA fitness evaluation. The GA–LP integration works successfully for this hard-to-solve problem.     

Workload planning in small lot printed circuit board assembly

The problem of workload planning in small lot printed circuit board (PCB) assembly concerns the determination of the daily mix of production orders to be released into the production system. When switching from one production order (board type) to another, a considerable set-up time is incurred based on the number of component feeders to be replaced in the component magazine of the assembly machines. To support the order-mix decision faced by a major electronics manufacturer, two versions of a linear programming model are developed. The models differ primarily in their degree of aggregation and their computational effort. In order to reduce the aggregational error incurred, a fuzzy approach is developed to estimate the number of component set-ups at automatic SMD placement machines. Our numerical investigation reveals that sufficiently accurate solutions may be obtained from a highly aggregate fuzzy LP-model and this is achieved with considerably less computational effort than with a more detailed LP-model. We also demonstrate the potential suitability of the fuzzy LP-model for implementation within an interactive decision support system.     

Assembly line sequencing for model mix

This paper describes a model sequencing algorithm for model-mix assembly lines. A new formulation of the sequencing problem is proposed, the objective function of which is to minimize the overall assembly line-length for no operator interference. Lower bounds for the overall line-length are developed.

Two types of work station interfaces are considered; ‘closed’, where boundaries cannot be violated, and ‘open’ where defined boundaries do not exist—adjacent operators being allowed to enter each others apparent work areas without causing any interference.

A complete factorial experiment was made on five factors to determine their influence on the overall assembly line length. These are, the number of models, the model cycle time deviation, the production demand deviation for each model, the operator time deviation, and the number of stations in the assembly line. The main conclusions of this experiment are discussed and recommendations made for the selection of parameters used in the design of model-mix assembly lines.

Also discussed is an approach for accommodating small changes in production demand for existing assembly lines.