Exact and heuristic procedures for the Heijunka-flow shop scheduling problem with minimum makespan and job replicas

Abstract

In this paper, a new problem of job sequences in a workshop is presented, taking into account non-unit demands for the jobs and whose objective is to minimize the total completion time for all the jobs (Cmax) satisfying a set of restrictions imposed on the problem to preserve the production mix. Two procedures are proposed to solve the new problem: Mixed Integer Linear Programming and a Metaheuristic based on Multistart and Local Search. The two proposed procedures are tested using instance set Nissan-9Eng.I, in both cases giving rise to highly satisfactory performance both in quality of solutions obtained and in the CPU times required. Through a case study of the Nissan engine manufacturing plant in Barcelona, our economic-productive analysis reveals that it is possible to save an average of € 1162.83 per day, manufacturing 270 engines, when we transform the current assembly line into a Heijunka-Flow Shop.