Hybrid Production Line Scheduling Optimization Methodology Inside A Smart Factory Environment

Production planning is one of the most important parts of the whole production procedure.The future company’s efficiency is directly dependent on this factor.Planning represents a controlling function.The essence of this factor is in logical formulation of the future business development,setting goals for every sphere of work among various sectors according to the modern tendencies.During the production planning procedure human,material,working and financial resources are determined along with deadlines and schedules.Production line scheduling is undoubtedly a crucial part of production planning.Based on production line scheduling managers calculate necessity for a certain amount of equipment,laborers,technical and material resources,salary rates and other possible production expenses.In the conditions of the modern world and under the circumstances of a constantly increasing pace of technological modernization companies are bound to stay on track with the new ideas and need to be ready to optimize and update their technological base which is used in the production process in order to be successful.Perfect examples of current approaches would be “The Industry 4.0” project presented by German government in 2011,the project started by the United States “The Internet of things” and the Chinese national program called “Made in China 2025”.“The Industry 4.0” or the fourth industrial revolution is the logical evolution of mankind’s previous experience resulted in the first industrial revolution which mobilized the mechanization of production using water and steam power;the second revolution then introduced mass production with the help of electric power and finally the third step was the digital revolution and the use of electronics and IT to further automate production.So-called “Smart factory” concept requires traditional methods and strategies to be optimized and adapted inside the new environment.And that is when the scheduling optimization techniques come at hand.This thesis is dedicated to firstly,finding a mathematical model which is able to describe the whole working process and materials,products and spare parts flow within the smart factory environment.The whole work is based on the model of the Harbin Institute of Technology workshop of the School of Mechatronics engineering.All the equipment,comprising the assembly line,storage,sorting,and quality checking zones,automated guided vehicle and 3D printer are combined with the goal of realization of working manufacturing system for highly customized products.Furthermore,the ideas for the AGV route design optimization are presented;a number of scheduling rules are tested;a special GA heuristic is designed,its efficiency is compared to the scheduling rules;finally,a dynamic routing approach is presented and integrated into the GA.