| Theme | XXL products, Factory planning |
|---|---|
| Project title | Dynamic layout planning for the assembly of XXL products under competing area requirements (DynaFaPXXL) |
| Project duration | 01.01.2015 – 31.12.2016 |
| Download | |
| Press release |
The assembly of large-scale products is usually organized in the job site principle. For each product, the area requirement increases with the progress of assembly. Therefore a defined area that corresponds to the maximum expansion of the product will be reserved. This results in high area requirements. In this research project a method is developed which allows considering time-varying and competing area requirements in the facility layout planning. Therefore existing optimization models will be expanded and implemented into an heuristic algorithm that will find an ideal layout.
Publications about the project
The assembly of XXL-products is often organized according to the job-site principle. With this principle, the assembly objects are arranged stationary and the necessary resources and materials are brought there. If several job-site assemblies are arranged simultaneously at the assembly area, an area-allocation-planning is necessary to prevent the available area from becoming a bottleneck. The area allocation planning can follow different design variants, which differ regarding the degree of freedom in the area arrangement, their organizational framework conditions as well as the tolerance against external influences. The possible general design variants and how they differ in terms of performance, planning reliability and resulting costs for
different framework conditions has not been researched yet.
This study shows that companies can optimally align their area-allocation-planning regarding the performance indicators productivity, planning reliability and expenditure by the implementation of an appropriate design variant. For this purpose, the special characteristics of job-site organized assemblies are analyzed, relevant influencing factors identified and the possible variants for the design of the area-allocation-planning are derived. In order to evaluate and compare them with each other, a simulation model is applied which maps the area allocation planning for all design variants depending on the influencing factors. The results of a simulation study carried out with this model confirm the different characteristics of the design variants and their individual suitability for specific conditions.
assembly, job-site-principle, area allocation planning, xxl-products
Whether aircraft, ships or construction machines: The assembly of so-called XXL products requires a lot of space. Researchers at IPH are currently developing a method which enables companies to find an ideal layout. By this means, they can save space and increase their productivity.
XXL products, area arrangement
This article describes the necessity of considering temporal dynamics in the arrangement of assembly areas for large-scale products. This is justified by the fact that the available area represents a bottleneck and thus using of an intelligent arrangement of the areas can lead to an increased utilization of the factory.
XXL-products, assembly area arrangement
The assembly of large-scale products is usually organized in the construction-site principle. For each assembled product, the area requirement increases with assembly time. So for each product a defined area is reserved, that corresponds to the maximum expansion of the product. As the existing area is limited, the single products are competing for it. This results in an increased area requirement and a poor use of area. Therefore time-variable and competing area requirements should be considered in the facility layout planning.
layout problem, time dynamics, competing areas
