Optimal just-in-time schedules for flexible transfer lines

Flexible transfer lines or mixed-model assembly lines are capable of diversified small-lot production due to negligible switch-over costs. With these lines, it is possible to implement just-in-time (JIT) production, which involves producing only the necessary parts in the necessary quantities at the necessary times. The problem of sequencing flexible transfer lines according to the JIT philosophy can be formulated as a nonlinear integer programming problem. Heuristic algorithms to solve the problem have appeared in the literature. In this paper, the authors show that the problem can be explicitly reduced to an assignment problem. Thus, they provide an efficient algorithm for an optimal solution to the JIT sequencing problem.