Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand
In this paper, we refer to a real case study of an industrial partner recently committed to its project on the design of a multi-unit and multi-product manufacturing system. Although the considered problem refers to an actual complex manufacturing system, it can be theoretically classified as a unio...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/12/6278 |
| _version_ | 1797490187748507648 |
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| author | Huan Shao Giovanni Moroni Aiping Li Liyun Xu |
| author_facet | Huan Shao Giovanni Moroni Aiping Li Liyun Xu |
| author_sort | Huan Shao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, we refer to a real case study of an industrial partner recently committed to its project on the design of a multi-unit and multi-product manufacturing system. Although the considered problem refers to an actual complex manufacturing system, it can be theoretically classified as a union of two key problems that need to be solved during the transfer line design stage: the transfer line balancing problem (TLBP) and the buffer allocation problem (BAP). As two closely related problems, TLBP and BAP usually have similar optimizing directions and share the same purpose: finding a balance between the performance of the transfer line system as well as minimizing investment costs. These problems are usually solved sequentially, but this leads to solutions close to a local optimum in the solution space and not to the global optimum of the overall problem. This paper presents a multi-objective optimization for concurrently solving transfer line balancing and buffer allocation problems. The new approach is based on a combination of evolutionary and heuristic-based algorithms and takes into account the uncertainty of market demand. To validate the proposed approach, an industrial case study in a multi-unit manufacturing system producing multiple products (four engine blocks) is discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:27:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2caa0ecf9a7d4759a6a6dce0fe94e067 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:27:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-2caa0ecf9a7d4759a6a6dce0fe94e0672023-11-23T15:30:50ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-06-011212627810.3390/app12126278Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain DemandHuan Shao0Giovanni Moroni1Aiping Li2Liyun Xu3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalySchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, ChinaIn this paper, we refer to a real case study of an industrial partner recently committed to its project on the design of a multi-unit and multi-product manufacturing system. Although the considered problem refers to an actual complex manufacturing system, it can be theoretically classified as a union of two key problems that need to be solved during the transfer line design stage: the transfer line balancing problem (TLBP) and the buffer allocation problem (BAP). As two closely related problems, TLBP and BAP usually have similar optimizing directions and share the same purpose: finding a balance between the performance of the transfer line system as well as minimizing investment costs. These problems are usually solved sequentially, but this leads to solutions close to a local optimum in the solution space and not to the global optimum of the overall problem. This paper presents a multi-objective optimization for concurrently solving transfer line balancing and buffer allocation problems. The new approach is based on a combination of evolutionary and heuristic-based algorithms and takes into account the uncertainty of market demand. To validate the proposed approach, an industrial case study in a multi-unit manufacturing system producing multiple products (four engine blocks) is discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/12/6278manufacturing systemstransfer line balancingbuffer allocationmulti-objective optimizationdiscrete-event simulationNSGA-II |
| spellingShingle | Huan Shao Giovanni Moroni Aiping Li Liyun Xu Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand Applied Sciences manufacturing systems transfer line balancing buffer allocation multi-objective optimization discrete-event simulation NSGA-II |
| title | Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand |
| title_full | Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand |
| title_fullStr | Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand |
| title_short | Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand |
| title_sort | heuristic approach for a combined transfer line balancing and buffer allocation problem considering uncertain demand |
| topic | manufacturing systems transfer line balancing buffer allocation multi-objective optimization discrete-event simulation NSGA-II |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/12/6278 |
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