EMPIRICAL MANUFACTURING LINE DESIGNS IN JAPANESE AUTOMOBILE PLANTS

Manufacturing line (ML) designers have understood that simulation studies can help to form a more reliable ML than conventional methods that for the most based upon engineering experiences. However, the use of simulation has not been applied much in designing the ML, and a confident method of designing a new ML or modifying the capacity of a current manufacturing line (CML) has remained a task in Japanese automobile manufacturing plants. The main purpose of this research is to propose a new perspective of a simulation study in Japanese automobile industry from an empirical point of view to implement the framework for designing a ML. The second purpose is to introduce the method and analytical procedures of modifying a CML utilized by a linear programming (LP) model for selecting alternatives for simulation study. The proposed method was applied in an actual design project to confirm the feasibility of the framework.