Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Publication
    Capacity planning and resource allocation in assembly systems consisting of dedicated and reconfigurable lines
    ( 2014)
    Gyulai, D.
    ;
    Kádár, B.
    ;
    Monostori, L.
    Companies with diverse product portfolio often face capacity planning problems due to the diversity of the products and the fluctuation of the order stream. High volume products can be produced cost-efficiently in dedicated assembly lines, but the assembly of low-volume products in such lines involves high idle times and operation costs. Reconfigurable assembly lines offer reasonable solution for the problem; however, it is still complicated to identify the set of products which are worth to assemble in such a line instead of dedicated ones. In the paper a novel method is introduced that supports the long-term decision to relocate the assembly of a product with decreasing demand from a dedicated to a reconfigurable line, based on the calculated investment and operational costs. In order to handle the complex aspects of the planning problem a new approach is proposed that combines discrete-event simulation and machine learning techniques. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through the results of an industrial case study.
  • Publication
    Milkrun vehicle routing approach for shop-floor logistics
    ( 2013)
    Gyulai, D.
    ;
    Pfeiffer, A.
    ;
    Sobottka, T.
    ;
    Váncza, J.
    In large-scale shop floors and manufacturing environment, different transportation systems are applied in order to satisfy the material requirements of the systems. The limited capacity of vehicles and time consumption of the logistics processes require effective vehicle routing approaches so as to support production without glitches. The paper gives an overview of the appropriate models and the most efficient solver algorithms of the vehicle routing problem (VRP), introduces a novel approach that uses a novel initial solution generation heuristics, and presents a local search method to solve the VRP. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of the solution proposed, the implemented software concentrates on the main industrial requirements like quick response, effective layout definition and order handling. A specific layout representation scheme is proposed which ensures interoperability between different factory-, and shop-floor planning software products.