An application of the assignment method to shop floor scheduling

Abstract

In recognition of the urgent need for local and national improvements in the use of resources and for increases in productivity, use has been made on the shop floor of a heavy steel forging factory of a simple aid to optimizing production scheduling.

The “Assignment Method” of solving an allocation problem, involving heating furnace capacity and various sizes of steel billets, has been implemented successfully by shop floor management who have been taught a simplified (sub-optimising) version of the basic Assignment Method.

Costs of heating operations on billets taken before and after implementation show a considerable improvement to have been obtained.