Integrated Production Scheduling and Distribution Planning with a Two-Stage Semi-Continuous Flow Shop Environment

• Published in: International journal of simulation modelling Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 553 - 561
• Main Authors: Yan, R., Li, M. M., Wei, W. C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna DAAAM International Vienna 01.09.2018
• Subjects: Continuous flow; Delivery scheduling; Industrial applications; Metallurgy; Production scheduling; Raw materials; Task scheduling
• ISSN: 1726-4529; 1726-4529
• DOI: 10.2507/IJSIMM17(3)CO15

In the past decades, a significant amount of attention has been attracted by operational production-distribution scheduling models. These models suggest that compared with hierarchical planning processes, the optimal plan can be achieved by considering the production and distribution decisions at the same time. For example, managers can schedule the production the delivery tasks consecutively. In a typical two-stage semi-continuous flow shop production plant, raw materials are converted into continuous resources in the first stage, and then, in the second stage, they are fed to the discrete-production processes of end products. Machines are employed to guarantee the continuous running of certain types of processes in each stage. Furthermore, the processing sequence at the first stage determines the readiness time and costs of resources. The product family is the basic scheduling element, and products sharing common materials and manufacturing procedures are categorised in the same product family. Taking these dependencies derived in practical manufacturing processes into consideration, various industrial cases can be fit in this model, including the food and drink industries or the metallurgical industry. This paper finally presented numerical-based tests on specific cases from an industrial application.