Flexible assembly layouts in smart manufacturing: An impact assessment for the automotive industry
针对汽车制造商在传统装配线与柔性装配布局（矩阵生产系统）间的技术选择，提出基于分析洞察和机会约束规划的评估框架，并用分支定价算法求解，量化了柔性配置对工人利用率、在制品和产出的影响。
Currently, automotive manufacturers take the concept of flexible manufacturing to an unprecedented level, considering the deployment of flexible assembly layouts (also known as matrix production systems) in which automated guided vehicles transport bodyworks on individual routes between assembly stations. To this end, a methodological framework that allows the assessment of the impact of technology choice decisions between traditional assembly lines and flexible assembly layouts as well as the impact of different flexibility levers and configurations is necessary for optimal decision support. We provide such a framework based on analytical insights and a chance-constrained problem formulation. We further show how this problem formulation can be solved optimally using a tailored branch-and-price algorithm. Our results quantify the impact of different flexibility configurations in flexible assembly layouts. We show that flexibility enables a simultaneous improvement in worker utilization and work in progress, resolving a classic trade-off in manufacturing systems. Moreover, we find that worker utilization and output are up to 30% higher in flexible assembly layouts compared with line assembly layouts. Further, flexible assembly layouts prove to be especially beneficial during the ramp-up of vehicles with alternative drivetrain technologies, such as the current transition to electric vehicles.