Final Assembly Sequencing (FAS) for Just-In-Time Manufacturing: Model and Algorithm.

Efficient sequencing of a mix of end-products in a final assembly shop is particularly well-suited for a pull manufacturing environment, such as Just-In-Time (JIT). Since each product imposes different requirements on the feeder shops, in terms of parts' production and resource usage, the feeder shops are driven by the sequence of final assembly. Final assembly sequencing (FAS) that levels the usage of parts and resources is more likely to minimize the work-in-process (WIP) levels of the various parts that comprise a final product. We develop a mathematical model and an algorithm for the FAS problem. Our model links the FAS problem to smoothing the WIP of parts and the loads imposed on resources in the feeder shops. We design an efficient local search procedure, based on selective pairwise interchanges, to solve a lexicographic minimax formulation of the FAS problem.