AGV SCHEDULE INTEGRATED WITH PRODUCTION IN FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) comprise, automated machine tools , automated material handling, and automated storage and automated ret rieval systems (AS/RS) as essential components. Effective sequencing a nd scheduling of the material handling systems (MHS) can have a major impact on the productivity of the manufacturing system. The material h andling cannot be neglected while scheduling the production tasks. It is necessary to take into account the interaction between machines, ma terial handling systems and computer. In this context, the paper attem pts to link the operation of automated guided vehicles (AGV) with the production schedule and suggests a heuristic algorithm that employs ve hicle dispatching rules (vdr) for conflict resolution. The vdrs consid ered in this paper are: shortest operation time (SPT), longest operati on time (LPT), longest travel time (LTT) and shortest travel time (STT ). The performance of the vdrs in the proposed heuristic is compared w ith makespan criteria. The results show that the STT provides the best solutions compared to other vdrs.