Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Grigoriev Alexander Author-Name: Klundert Joris van de Author-workplace-name: METEOR Title: Throughput Rate Optimization in High Multiplicity Sequencing Problems Abstract: Mixed model assembly systems assemble products (parts) of differenttypes in certain prespecified quantities. A minimal part set is a smallestpossible set of product type quantities, to be called the multiplicities,in which the numbers of assembled products of the various types are inthe desired ratios. It is common practice to repeatedly assemble minimalpart sets, and in such a way that the products of each of the minimalpart sets are assembled in the same sequence. Little is known howeverregarding the resulting throughput rate, in particular in comparison to thethroughput rates attainable by other input strategies. This paper investigatesthroughput and balancing issues in repetitive manufacturing environments.It considers sequencing problems that occur in this setting andhow the repetition strategy influences throughput. We model the problemsas a generalization of the traveling salesman problem and derive ourresults in this general setting. Our analysis uses well known concepts fromscheduling theory and combinatorial optimization. Keywords: Economics ; Series: Research Memoranda Creation-Date: 2001 Number: 028 File-URL: http://digitalarchive.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fedora/objects/guid:f4c4de96-6f17-45e2-a898-ff27be298bdf/datastreams/ASSET1/content File-Format: application/pdf File-Size: 208831 Handle: RePEc:unm:umamet:2001028