Implementing Job Sequencing in a CONWIP fully automated assembly line

Electric vehicle production poses several challenges from the manufacturing point of view due to the uncertainty in the price and availability of raw materials and the frequent fluctuations of market demand. Moreover, mass customisation requires flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing systems, while the automation of the assembly lines to achieve a higher throughput rate and the complexity of job handling require conveyors and carousels. This paper investigates the implementation of job sequencing policies through conveyor loops to improve the flexibility and reconfigurability of a realistic CONWIP assembly line while avoiding upstream and downstream variability propagation. Scenario analysis evaluates how different job sequencing strategies and WIP control can impact the average and standard deviation of the shift throughput, the average job flow time, and the probability of deadlocks on an assembly line for stators of electric engines.