An empirical assessment of the performances of three line feeding modes used in the automotive sector: line stocking vs. kitting vs. sequencing

Abstract

International audienceIn high diversity, Just In Time production environments, mixed-model assembly lines aim at producing a large amount of end products that use alternative variants of components used in the assembly process. Therefore, the availability of parts required at the border of the assembly line is critical for the production process. To ensure the availability of parts needed on the line, three line feeding modes are commonly used in practice: line stocking, kitting and sequencing. The relative performance of each mode, in terms of average total operating cost, depends on various factors such as the diversity of components, parts’ physical features (i.e. weight and volume), to name a few. The impact of such parameters on the performance of line feeding modes remains still weakly studied in the literature. Through an empirical approach based on a real case, our study aims at evaluating the average total cost pertaining to each mode. The total cost includes parts preparation before assembly, picking, in-plant transportation and storage costs. A thorough comparative study enables then to characterise situations which make one mode less costly compared with the others. Each situation corresponds to specific values taken by parameters that are considered in the cost formulation

A study of a kanban based assembly line feeding system through integration of simulation and particle swarm optimization

“…Golz et al (2012) compared traditional kanban feeding with custom-scheduled tours: their solution performed slightly better than traditional kanban refilling, although being worse in terms of computational time. Sali et al (2015) deepened the comparison with the addition of sequenced bins, which guarantee the best cost performance when dealing with large items and high component diversity. Faccio (2014) investigated the breakeven points of different feeding policies according to the variations in production mix.…”

Parts feeding in two-stage assembly system: an assessment by simulation

“…The number of variants that can be produced at each station is an experimental factor and it is varied from 2 to 4, similar to previous research (e.g. Sali et al, 2015). The due dates of assembly orders are set exogenously by adding a random allowance factor to the order entry time.…”

Line feeding optimization for Just in Time assembly lines: An application to the automotive industry

“…In their paper, Sali and al. (2015) propose a total cost formulation of processes related to line stocking, kitting and sequencing modes in the context of mixed-model assembly line.…”