Material Supply optimization for Just in Time Assembly Line with Uncertain Travel Times

If there is the uncertain travel time in the material supply of a JIT assembly line, a shortage of material in the station will be caused, which has an important impact on production. In this paper, the uncertain travel time is represented by the interval number according to the actual situation. By using robust optimization method and introducing a route-dependent the uncertain parameter, the uncertain travel time is considered into the material supply optimization model for minimizing the largest possible vehicle trip time. A genetic algorithm is designed to solve this model. Through the analysis of the relationship between the line stoppage probability and the route-dependent the uncertain parameter, by the Monte Carlo simulation, the final solution can be obtained. The material supply planning for an engine assembly line is taken an example. The solution which can resist the uncertain travel time is gained by using the proposed method; hence the effectiveness of the method is proved.