Abstract
In various departments of design and production systems, separate optimization methods have often been applied to decision-making, and the usefulness of such optimization methods is well recognized. However, these methods are currently only used for relatively small-scale systems and there is a need for efficient optimization techniques that can be applied globally, to include all departments engaged in an enterprise. This study proposes procedures for utilizing global, enterprise-wide optimization techniques. The conventional decision-making techniques usually used separately in each production department are arranged as systematic procedures and are translated into components that optimize the corresponding production subsystem. Hybrid operation of the optimization components and genetic algorithms enable the global optimization of the design and production system. Detailed variables included in each component are controlled by arranged procedures based on conventional techniques and hierarchical genetic algorithms control the coordination variables. Thus, the entire production system can be globally optimized using hierarchical genetic algorithms in cooperation with subsystem components.
