抄録
This paper first describes a two-step method for adjusting equipment load in a materials processing plant having batch annealing furnaces. The first step takes a loading approach, in which delivery date is followed without accounting for the equipment capacity. The second step takes a leveling approach, in which the process time zone and process machines are altered to maximize the production volume and to minimize the work-in-process. The leveling priorities are determined based on the work-in-process and delivery dates of products. This method enables planning for production while minimizing production lead time. This paper second describes a distributed scheduling method. The proposed approach limits the processing time based on result of adjusting equipment load for creating a feasible scheduling. This paper includes the results of a computer experiment conducted to validate the proposed method.
