Multiproduct Production Scheduling at Owens-Corning Fiberglas

Abstract

To address production-scheduling decisions at Owens-Corning Fiberglas at three distinct levels—aggregate planning, disaggregate planning, and job scheduling—a three-phase hierarchical model was developed. A production-switching rule is used to determine aggregate inventory levels, production levels, and work-force levels. Lot sizes, line assignments, and inventory levels are determined for individual products via linear programming. Final job sequencing is accomplished by use of an efficient heuristic. Implementation of the model has resulted in annual savings of over $100,000 during the first two years of operation.

On the Modeling Tactics of Research Extensions in Production/Operations Management

“…Liberatore and Miller (1985) found that the implementation of a hierarchical production planning system based on the Hax and Meal framework (1975) led to reduced distribution costs of $400,000-$750,000 plus other important but less tangible benefits for a tile producer. Oliff and Burch (1985) and Gelders and Van Wassenhove (1982) also observed substantial benefits from the application of hierarchical planning methods. Showing the ability to transition from manufacturing to service systems, Steinberg, Khumawala, and Scamell (1982) applied a requirements planning process to the health-care environment.…”

Modeling industrial lot sizing problems: a review

“…Within the limits of the family batch sizes, production quantities are determined for each item. An application of this type of planning is Liberatore and Miller (1985) and Oliff and Burch (1985). There is a lot of interaction between the different levels and the sequential optimization does usually not result in a global optimum.…”

Group Technology (GT) and Lean Production: A Conceptual Model for Enhancing Productivity

“…Several examples of applying GT to production scheduling can be found in the literature. Oliff and Burch (1985) attempted to reduce product changeover costs that were highly sequence dependent by grouping products into families. Using these groups they successfully reduced changeovers between product families and machine set-up costs.…”