An Energy Saving Scheduling Method for Just in Time Material Handling in Mixed-Model Assembly Line
Driven by the green logistics, automated guided vehicle (AGV) has been widely accepted as a new transportation tool for in-house logistics, which enables a timely supply of parts to the designated workstations with less energy consumption. However, the existing scheduling methods for AGV scheduling are designed to minimize inventory or cost without explicitly considering energy saving. To fill the gap, this paper proposes an AGV scheduling model for energy saving in a mixed-model assembly line, where AGVs can have variable travel speeds. A mixed-integer model is constructed and an exact solution procedure is provided. Simulation studies are performed to investigate the main factors that determine the energy consumption and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.