Analysis of the Design and Operation of Mix-Bank Resequencing Areas

Author

Arunkumar Subramanian

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Greenwood, Allen G.

Committee Member

Bullington, Stanley F.

Committee Member

Usher, John M.

Date of Degree

12-11-2004

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Industrial Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Industrial Engineering

Abstract

Automotive assembly plants work on a pre-planned job sequence in order to optimize the performance of the assembly line. However, the job sequence becomes scrambled due to factors such as plant layout, process design, variability and uncertainty. Assembly plants use either a mix-bank or an automatic storage and retrieval system to regenerate the sequence before final assembly. A mix-bank, which is a set of parallel lanes, is the most common method used in the automotive industry to reconstruct the sequence. Only the first vehicles on the lanes are available for sequencing in a mix-bank set-up. Hence the lane selection policy and the lane configuration of a mix-bank play crucial roles in recreating the sequence. This thesis addresses the problem of identifying a superior lane selection policy for a mix-bank re-sequencing area. Simulation models of a re-sequencing area are used to evaluate lane selection policies. Varying the lane configurations and the nature of sequence tests the effectiveness of the selection policies.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20400

Recommended Citation

Subramanian, Arunkumar, "Analysis of the Design and Operation of Mix-Bank Resequencing Areas" (2004). Theses and Dissertations. 661.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/661