DESIGN AND SCHEDULING OF FLEXIBLE ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS FOR LARGE PRODUCTS - A SIMULATION STUDY

Manufacturers of large products are increasingly considering the use of flexible assembly systems to improve the efficiency of their assembly operations, especially where many different products are assembled on the same assembly line. The assembly of large products usually involves some large component parts. The complications of mating such components with the partially assembled unit must be considered in the design and the operation of the flexible assembly system. In this paper, we present results of a simulation study that was motivated by a major automobile company. The study investigates capacity planning issues (number of machines and buffers) and scheduling strategies to facilitate the component mating process.