A decomposition approach for the car resequencing problem with selectivity banks

An important decision problem when mass‐producing customized product to order is the sequencing problem, which decides on the succession of models launched down a mixed‐model assembly line. To avoid work overload of workforce the car sequencing problem restricts the maximum occurrence of labor‐intensive options, e.g., a sunroof, in a subsequence of a certain length by applying sequencing rules. In the real‐world, frequently perturbations occur stirring up an initially planed sequence, so that a resequencing is required. This paper treats the car resequencing problem where a selectivity bank, which is a special form of buffer organization consisting of parallel line segments without assembly operations, is applied to reshuffle a given initial sequence and rule violations are to be minimized. The problem is formalized and suited heuristic solution procedures are presented and tested. Furthermore, the impact of differently sized mix‐banks on resequencing flexibility is investigated.