Stage due date planning for multistage assembly systems

Coordinating due dates of operations throughout all stages of manufacturing and assembly is a problem especially for complex product structures with uncertainties in process times. A recursive procedure is described to estimate distributions of completion times for each operation. Stage due dates are then calculated to meet specified service targets. Compared with plans from existing heuristic methods, there are considerable improvements in meeting service targets and reducing costs. Simulations demonstrate that the method is effective for complex assemblies produced in low volumes by capital goods companies.