Multi-site planning: non flexible production units and set-up time treatment

In this paper the multi-site planning and control problem is considered. This problem consists in improving coordination of different production units in the field of production planning and control for a multi-site production. A multi-site production takes place when the production facilities of an international company are located in different geographical sites. To solve this problem a centralised approach has been chosen and a multi-site planning integrated system has been built in relation with the local planning and control systems of the different production sites. This centralised approach is first introduced: the chosen constraint satisfaction method (used in the field of constraint satisfaction problems) is presented as well as the results concerning a given industrial application. Moreover in such a multi-site production some production units are characterised by large set-up time between two different production orders treatments. Thus, a model and a solving method compatible with the previous multi-site planning and control system are proposed for those production units. This model has been thought to be generic in order to be very easily adapted to different kind of multi-site productions. So several strategies are proposed and their efficiency is compared according to different criteria concerning the structure of the company; and the production orders.