Manufacturing line design device, manufacturing line design method, and computer program

Abstract

To reduce the time required for creating a process organization when manufacturing a plurality of products using a plurality of production lines.SOLUTION: A production line design apparatus for designing a production line for a product is provided with an information acquisition unit that acquires equipment information that associates processes with the number of pieces of owned equipment that can be used in each process, process information that associates products with the processes required to manufacture each product, and the number of required production lines, respectively, and an allocation unit that allocates the products and the equipment to the production lines. The allocation unit allocates the equipment for each process of a production line with the number of production lines and the number of pieces of owned equipment as constraints, and allocates the product that can be produced in the production line each time the equipment is allocated, shifts the process to the next production line, and repeats the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the acquired number of production lines is reached.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing line design device, a manufacturing line design method, and a computer program. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technology for manufacturing products using a production line consisting of multiple processes (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The work organization device described in Patent Document 1 allocates workers, tasks to be performed by the workers, and jigs, tools, and equipment required for the tasks to the production line. After allocation, the work organization device optimizes the production line by evaluating the depreciation costs of the jigs, tools, and equipment, and labor costs using an objective function.

[0003] The line production support system described in Patent Document 2 uses work information and information on work equipment to design a production line that can produce multiple types of workpieces within a certain time when a wide variety of products are manufactured on a single production line. Patent Document 2 also describes how, when there is a limit on the number of jigs owned, the system organizes production units taking this limit into consideration, thereby reducing work losses associated with jig replacement. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-116507 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-257947 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As shown in Patent Document 2, when there are limitations on equipment such as jigs used in product manufacturing, the manufacturing line must be designed taking these limitations into consideration. In this regard, in the device described in Patent Document 1, the manufacturing line is designed from the perspective of costs such as depreciation and labor costs, and limitations on the number of pieces of equipment, etc., are not taken into consideration. If the limitations on the number of pieces of equipment are not taken into consideration, if the created work schedule exceeds the limit on the number of pieces of equipment, the work schedule must be re-organized. The system described in Patent Document 2 is based on the premise that products are manufactured on a single manufacturing line, and the limit on the number of pieces of equipment is eliminated by replacing jigs, etc. Conversely, the system does not take into consideration line design when there are constraints on the number of pieces of equipment, etc., on multiple manufacturing lines.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to reduce the time required to create a process organization when a plurality of products are manufactured using a plurality of manufacturing lines. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can be realized in the following forms. a process control unit that controls the number of production lines to be used for manufacturing a plurality of products, the process control unit controlling the number of production lines to be used for manufacturing a plurality of products, the process control unit controlling the number of production lines to be used for manufacturing a plurality of products, and the process control unit controlling the number of production lines to be used for manufacturing a plurality of products.

[0008] (1) According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manufacturing line design device for designing a manufacturing line for a product. The manufacturing line design device includes an information acquisition unit that acquires equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process, process information associating products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products, and the number of manufacturing lines required, and an allocation unit that allocates the products and the equipment to the manufacturing lines, the allocation unit allocating the equipment for each process of one of the manufacturing lines using the number of manufacturing lines and the number of pieces of equipment as constraints, and each time it allocates the equipment, it allocates the products that can be manufactured on that manufacturing line and transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, repeating the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until it reaches the acquired number of manufacturing lines.

[0009] According to this configuration, the allocation of equipment and products to each production line is repeated until the number of production lines is reached, with the number of production lines and the number of owned equipment as constraints. Therefore, the total number of equipment equipped in each designed production line does not exceed the number of owned equipment. As a result, the created process schedule is a feasible schedule, and it is not necessary to create an unrealizable process schedule that does not allow for restrictions on the number of owned equipment, as in the past. In other words, according to this configuration, the calculation time for the process schedule of a production line can be shortened, and the process schedule time can be accelerated. As a result, the time required to create a process schedule can be shortened when multiple products are manufactured using multiple production lines.

[0010] (2) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the allocation unit may create a table that associates each of the manufacturing lines with all of the processes, and use the table to allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the first manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, and then transition the processing to the next manufacturing line, and use the table to allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the second manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, after subtracting the allocated number of the equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the owned number of the equipment. According to this configuration, using a table associating production lines with all processes, equipment is sequentially assigned to the first production line until any product can be manufactured on the first production line. Then, equipment is sequentially assigned to the second production line until any product can be manufactured on the second production line. The upper limit of equipment that can be assigned to the second production line is the number obtained by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment assigned to the first production line from the number of pieces of equipment in stock. In other words, equipment in excess of the number of pieces of equipment in stock is not assigned to the second production line. As a result, according to this configuration, the total number of pieces of equipment in each production line does not exceed the number of pieces of equipment in stock, enabling a feasible process organization. Furthermore, if even one product that can be manufactured on the first production line exists, processing transitions to the second production line. This allows products to be gradually assigned to each production line, preventing a bias in the allocation of products to a single production line.

[0011] (3) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, after the allocation for the second manufacturing line is completed, the allocation unit may refer to the process information, add the equipment that is not required for manufacturing the product that can be manufactured on the first line to the number of pieces of equipment in stock, transition the processing to the next manufacturing line, and use the table to allocate the equipment in order for each process of the third manufacturing line until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the second manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment in stock. With this configuration, the upper limit of the equipment that can be allocated to the third production line is the total number of pieces of equipment plus the amount of equipment not used to manufacture products on the first production line minus the amount of equipment allocated to the second production line. In other words, equipment not used on the first production line can be allocated to the third production line. This increases the number of products to be manufactured on the third production line, further speeding up the process scheduling time.

[0012] (4) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the allocation unit may create a table that associates each of the manufacturing lines with all of the processes, and use the table to allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the first manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, and then transition the processing to the next manufacturing line, and use the table to allocate the equipment to each of the processes of the second manufacturing line in order until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment in possession and adding the pieces of equipment that are not required for manufacturing the products that can be manufactured on the first line to the number of pieces of equipment in possession. With this configuration, the upper limit of the number of pieces of equipment that can be assigned to the second production line is the total number of pieces of equipment minus the number of pieces of equipment assigned to the first production line and plus the number of pieces of equipment that are not used to manufacture products on the first production line. In other words, it becomes possible to assign pieces of equipment that are not used on the first production line to the second production line. This increases the number of products to be manufactured on the second production line, further speeding up the process scheduling time.

[0013] (5) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, after the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products to all of the manufacturing lines in the first round has been completed, if there are any unassigned products that need to be manufactured, the allocation unit may allocate the equipment for each process from the equipment that has not been assigned to the first manufacturing line, transition the processing to the next manufacturing line, and repeat the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the unassigned products are assigned to one of the manufacturing lines. With this configuration, after the allocation of equipment and products to all production lines in the first cycle is completed, the unassigned products are allocated to production lines in the second cycle and beyond. This ensures that the production of a product is assigned to one of the processes. Furthermore, by allocating multiple types of products, it is possible to prevent the allocation of products from being biased toward one production line.

[0014] (6) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, when allocating the equipment and the products to m (m is a natural number) manufacturing lines, if the product that can be manufactured on the nth (n=1, 2,..., m-1) manufacturing line is the same as the product that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th manufacturing line, the allocation unit may allocate the number of product types that can be manufactured on the nth manufacturing line divided by (m-(n-1)) to the nth manufacturing line. With this configuration, if the product that can be manufactured on the nth production line and the product that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th production line are the same, not all of the products that can be manufactured are allocated to the nth production line to which the equipment and products were allocated first. Instead, the number of types of products calculated by dividing the number of the nth production line and the number of all production lines to which the equipment and products will be allocated after the nth production line by (m-(n-1)) are allocated to the nth production line. Therefore, with this configuration, it is possible to further prevent the allocation of products from being biased toward one production line.

[0015] (7) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the allocation unit allocates the equipment and the products when the number of each piece of equipment owned is less than the total number of the manufacturing lines, and does not need to allocate the equipment or the products when the number of each piece of equipment owned is equal to or greater than the total number of the manufacturing lines. With this configuration, if the number of pieces of equipment owned is equal to or greater than the total number of manufacturing lines, there will be no shortage of equipment even if all the equipment is allocated to all manufacturing lines, so allocation of equipment and products is not performed. As a result, if there is a surplus in the number of pieces of equipment owned, there is no need to organize processes with unnecessary restrictions.

[0016] The present invention can be realized in various forms, such as a manufacturing line design device, a process organization device, a line manufacturing support system, a control method for these devices and systems, a computer program executed in these devices and systems, a server device for distributing this computer program, and a non-transitory storage medium on which a computer program is stored. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a line design device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a table showing process information and equipment information according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit. [Figure 11] 1 is a flowchart of a manufacturing line design method. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart of a second round allocation process. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart of a modified manufacturing line design method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] <Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a line design device (production line design device) 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The line design device 100 of this embodiment designs a plurality of production lines that combine a plurality of processes. When designing the production lines, the line design device 100 designs the production lines using the number of production lines required and the number of pieces of equipment required to perform the processes as constraints. As will be described later, the line design device 100 of this embodiment designs each line using the number of pieces of equipment required and other constraints, thereby reducing the time required to create a process organization.

[0019] The line design device 100 of this embodiment is a personal computer that processes various types of information. As shown in Fig. 1, the line design device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a storage device 20, an input unit 30, an output unit 40, and a communication unit 50 that transmits and receives various types of information via wireless communication.

[0020] The input unit 30 has a keyboard and a mouse. Input information input by the user via the input unit 30 is processed by the CPU 10. The output unit 40 has a monitor for displaying images and a speaker for outputting audio. The output unit 40 displays images on the monitor and outputs audio from the speaker in accordance with output information from the CPU.

[0021] The storage device 20 is composed of a hard disk drive (HDD) and the like. The storage device 20 includes a process information database (process information DB) 21 that stores process information for each process, and an equipment information database (equipment information DB) 22 that stores equipment information on the number of pieces of equipment owned. The process information is data that associates products with the processes required to manufacture each product. The equipment information is data that associates processes with the number of pieces of equipment owned that can be used in each process.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a list showing process information and equipment information in this embodiment. In FIG. 2, the number of pieces of equipment owned corresponding to each process and the processes required to manufacture each product are shown as a table. In FIG. 2, the information stored in "process name" and the information stored in "number of pieces of equipment owned" correspond to equipment information. In addition, in FIG. 2, the information stored in "process name" and the information stored in products 1 to x (x is any natural number; in the example of FIG. 2, x=18) correspond to process information. Note that the process information and equipment information may be held in the same table as in FIG. 2, or may be held in separate tables linked using the process name as a key.

[0023] The number of owned equipment in the equipment information stores in advance the number of pieces of equipment that can be used for each corresponding process. For example, there is one piece of equipment for executing process 1, and similarly for processes 2 to 8, there is one piece of equipment for each of processes 2 to 8. There are four pieces of equipment for executing process 9, and ten pieces of equipment for executing process 10. In this way, the maximum number of pieces of equipment that can be used for each corresponding process is stored in the field of the number of owned equipment in the equipment information.

[0024] For products 1 to x in the process information, a circle is placed in the column corresponding to the process required to manufacture the product. For example, to manufacture product 1, processes 9 to 15, 17 to 18, and 20 to 26 must be included in one production line. To carry out process 9, four pieces of equipment are required. Therefore, in this embodiment, process 9 is allocated to a maximum of four production lines.

[0025] The CPU 10 is connected to a ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), not shown, and loads and executes a computer program stored in the ROM into the RAM. As shown in Fig. 1, the CPU 10 functions as an information acquisition unit 11 that acquires process information and equipment information, and an allocation unit 12 that allocates products and equipment to each production line.

[0026] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires the number of required production lines input via the input unit 30, in addition to the process information and equipment information. The allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for each process of one production line, using the acquired number of lines and the number of owned pieces of equipment as constraints. Furthermore, each time the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment, it allocates products that can be manufactured on that production line. Similarly, after allocating products to one production line, the allocation unit 12 transitions the process to the next production line, and repeats the allocation of equipment and product allocation until the acquired number of production lines is reached.

[0027] Each of the figures from Fig. 3 to Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the allocation of equipment and products by the allocation unit 12. Each of the figures from Fig. 3 to Fig. 10 shows a table created by the allocation unit 12 that associates each production line with all processes. Specifically, in addition to the process information and equipment information shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3 shows, as a table, lines 1 to 5, which are the necessary production lines, and an equipment pool. The equipment pool is an area used to calculate the number of owned equipment in the equipment allocation process, and functions as the "number of owned equipment." The equipment pool shows the number of remaining equipment after subtracting the equipment allocated to each production line from the number of owned equipment.

[0028] In this embodiment, the allocating unit 12 determines whether the number of pieces of equipment required to perform each process is equal to or greater than the number of pieces of equipment required when allocating the pieces of equipment to all of lines 1 to 5. If the number of pieces of equipment required is equal to or greater than the number of production lines, i.e., if the same equipment can be allocated to all lines, the allocating unit 12 of this embodiment does not allocate the equipment and products. If the number of pieces of equipment required is less than the number of production lines, the allocating unit 12 selects one production line (e.g., line 1) to which to allocate the equipment. Using the table shown in FIG. 3, the allocating unit 12 allocates the equipment to each process on the selected line 1 in order until any product specified in the process information can be manufactured. In this embodiment, when the allocating unit 12 allocates the equipment for processes 1 to 24 to line 1, product 11 can be manufactured on line 1.

[0029] FIG. 4 shows a table in which equipment is assigned to Line 2 after equipment is assigned to Line 1. After assigning equipment to Line 1, the assignment unit 12 transitions the processing to Line 2, which is the next production line. Using the table shown in FIG. 3, the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment to each process on Line 2 in order from the number of pieces of equipment in the equipment pool until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. The number shown in the equipment pool in FIG. 3 is the number of pieces of equipment owned minus the number of pieces of equipment assigned to Line 1.

[0030] In the equipment pool shown in FIG. 3, the number of pieces of equipment for processes 1 to 8 and 16 is zero. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment that has inventory in the equipment pool to line 2, starting from process 9. As shown in FIG. 4, when the allocation unit 12 allocates the equipment for processes 9 to 15 and 17 to 25 to line 2, products 1 to 10 and products 16 to 18 can be manufactured on line 2. Product 11 that can be manufactured on line 1 is different from products 1 to 10 and 16 to 18 that can be manufactured on line 2. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 determines product 11 as the product to be manufactured on line 1.

[0031] After the allocation for line 2 is completed, the allocation unit 12 refers to the process information shown in Fig. 3 and returns to the equipment pool the equipment that is not required for manufacturing the products that can now be manufactured on line 1. This increases the number of pieces of equipment that can be allocated to line 3, which is allocated after line 2. Specifically, the allocation unit 12 returns to the equipment pool the equipment for performing steps 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 to 14, 16, 18, and 21, and the number of pieces of equipment that can be allocated to the subsequent lines becomes the number in the equipment pool shown in Fig. 4.

[0032] FIG. 5 shows a table in which equipment has been allocated to Line 3 after the equipment has been allocated to Line 2. After returning unnecessary equipment from Line 1 to the equipment pool, the allocation unit 12 transitions the process to Line 3, which is the next production line. Using the table shown in FIG. 4, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool in order to each process on Line 3 until it becomes possible to manufacture any of the products specified in the process information. The amount of inventory in the equipment pool is the number of pieces of equipment owned minus the number of pieces of equipment allocated to Line 1 and Line 2 at the current time.

[0033] In the equipment pool shown in Fig. 4, there is no equipment for processes 1 to 3, 6, 7, and 19. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment that has inventory in the equipment pool to line 3, starting from process 4. As shown in Fig. 5, when the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for processes 4, 5, 8 to 18, and 20 to 26 to line 3, products 1 to 10 can be manufactured on line 3.

[0034] There is some overlap between products 1 to 10 and 16 to 18 that can be manufactured on line 2 and products 1 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 3. Therefore, the allocating unit 12 determines products 16 to 18 that do not overlap as the products to be manufactured on line 2. Thereafter, the allocating unit 12 returns the equipment used in the allocated processes 9, 13, and 18 that is not used for products 16 to 18 to be manufactured on line 2 to the equipment pool.

[0035] FIG. 6 shows a table in which equipment is assigned to line 4 after the equipment is assigned to line 3. After returning unnecessary equipment from line 2 to the equipment pool, the assignment unit 12 transitions the process to line 4, which is the next production line. Using the table shown in FIG. 5, the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool to each process on line 4 in order until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. In the equipment pool shown in FIG. 5, there is no equipment for processes 1 to 8, 16, and 19. Therefore, the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment that is in inventory in the equipment pool to line 4 in order, starting with process 9. As shown in FIG. 6, when the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment for processes 4, 5, 9 to 18, and 20 to 26 to line 4, products 1 to 10 can be manufactured on line 4.

[0036] Products 1 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 3 are the same as products 1 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 4. In this case, the allocating unit 12 allocates to line 3 the number of types of products that can be manufactured, calculated by dividing 10 types by 3, which is the total number of production lines, minus 2, the total number of lines 1 and 2 to which equipment has already been allocated. Since the value obtained by dividing 10 types by 3 is 3.33..., the allocating unit 12 allocates the production of three or four types of products to line 3. In this embodiment, the allocating unit 12 allocates three products 1 to 3 as products to be manufactured on line 3. After that, the allocating unit 12 returns to the equipment pool the equipment used in the allocated processes 4, 5, 8, and 16 that is not used in the products 1 to 3 to be manufactured on line 3.

[0037] FIG. 7 shows a table in which equipment is assigned to line 5 after the equipment is assigned to line 4. After returning unnecessary equipment from line 3 to the equipment pool, the assignment unit 12 transitions the process to line 5, the next production line. Using the table shown in FIG. 6, the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool to each process on line 5 in order until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. In the equipment pool shown in FIG. 6, there is no equipment for processes 1 to 7, 16, and 19. Therefore, the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment that is in inventory in the equipment pool to line 5 in order, starting with process 8. As shown in FIG. 7, when the assignment unit 12 assigns equipment for processes 4, 5, 8 to 18, and 20 to 26 to line 4, products 4 to 10, among the products whose production line has not been determined, can be manufactured on line 5.

[0038] Products 4 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 4 are the same as products 4 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 5. Therefore, the allocation unit 12 allocates the number of products to line 4 by dividing the number of types of products that can be manufactured (7) by 2, which is the total number of production lines (5) minus the total number of lines 1 to 3 to which equipment has already been assigned (3). Since 7 types divided by 3 is 3.5, the allocation unit 12 allocates the three products 4 to 6 as products to be manufactured on line 4. Furthermore, since there is no line other than line 5 that has not been selected, the allocation unit 12 determines the remaining products 7 to 10 as products to be manufactured on line 5. After that, the allocation unit 12 returns the equipment used in the allocated processes 4, 5, and 16 that is not used for products 4 to 6 to be manufactured on line 4 to the equipment pool.

[0039] FIG. 8 shows a table in which equipment not used in manufacturing products 7-10 manufactured on line 5 has been returned to the equipment pool. Even if equipment is assigned to all lines 1-5, products 12-15 are not being manufactured on any of the manufacturing lines. In other words, after the first round of equipment and product assignment to all manufacturing lines is completed, there are still unassigned products that must be manufactured. In this case, the assignment unit 12 assigns all products to one of the manufacturing lines by repeating a process different from the first round of equipment and product assignment to manufacturing lines on the second and subsequent rounds until the unassigned products are assigned to one of the manufacturing lines.

[0040] FIG. 9 shows a table in which equipment is assigned to line 1 during the second round of equipment assignment. The assignment unit 12 selects one line 1. The assignment unit 12 assigns equipment until one of products 12 to 15 other than product 11, which has already been decided to be manufactured on line 1, becomes available for production. The assignment unit 12 assigns equipment that has inventory in the equipment pool shown in FIG. 8, in order, starting from process 4, which has zero assigned equipment. As shown in FIG. 9, when equipment 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 16, and 25 are assigned to line 1, products 12 to 15 become available for production on line 1. The assignment unit 12 assigns products 12 to 15 as products to be manufactured on line 1.

[0041] 10 shows a table in which unused equipment on line 1 has been returned to the equipment pool after the products to be manufactured on line 1 in the second cycle have been decided. The allocation unit 12 returns to the equipment pool the equipment used in process 9 that has not been used for product 11 allocated to line 1 in the first cycle and products 12 to 15 allocated to line 1 in the second cycle.

[0042] Fig. 11 is a flowchart of a manufacturing line design method. In the line design flow shown in Fig. 11, first, the information acquisition unit 11 performs an information acquisition step of acquiring equipment information, process information, and the number of required manufacturing lines (step S1). The allocation unit 12 uses the acquired equipment information to determine whether the number of required equipment when all equipment is allocated to all lines 1 to 5 is greater than the number of owned equipment (step S2). If the number of owned equipment is equal to or less than the number of required equipment (step S2: NO), the line design flow ends.

[0043] In the process of step S2, if the number of required pieces of equipment when allocating the equipment to all lines 1 to 5 is greater than the number of owned pieces of equipment (step S2, YES), the allocating unit 12 selects line 1 as a first production line (step S3). The allocating unit 12 allocates equipment and products to the selected line 1, using the number of production lines acquired by the information acquiring unit 11 and the number of owned pieces of equipment as constraints (step S4). As shown in FIG. 3, the allocating unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to each process one by one to line 1 until at least one product 11 can be manufactured. As a result, the allocating unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to processes 1 to 24 to line 1. The allocating unit 12 allocates products 11 to be manufactured using equipment corresponding to processes 1 to 24 to line 1.

[0044] The allocating unit 12 then transitions to line 2 as the second production line on which allocation processing will be performed (step S5). The allocating unit 12 allocates equipment to line 2 in the same manner as allocating equipment to line 1, and allocates equipment and products to line 2 (step S6). As shown in FIG. 4, the allocating unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to each process one by one in order to line 2 until at least one product can be manufactured. As a result, the allocating unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to processes 9 to 15 and 17 to 26 to line 2. The allocating unit 12 allocates products 1 to 10 and 16 to 18, which are manufactured using equipment corresponding to processes 9 to 15 and 17 to 26, to line 2.

[0045] The allocating unit 12 determines, among the products allocated to line 1 and the products allocated to line 2, the products 11 that are allocated only to line 1 as the products to be manufactured on line 1 (step S7). Note that, if the products allocated to line 1 and line 2 are the same, as explained using FIG. 5, the allocating unit 12 calculates the number of types of products to be allocated to the production line from the number of overlapping product types on different production lines, the number of production lines to which equipment and products have not yet been allocated, and the total number of production lines.

[0046] After the allocation of products to line 2 is completed, the allocation unit 12 returns unused equipment allocated to line 1 that is not used to manufacture product 11 to the equipment pool (step S8). The allocation unit 12 determines whether the allocation of equipment and products to all lines 1 to 5 is complete (step S9). If there are still production lines for which equipment and products have not been allocated (step S9: NO), the allocation unit 12 replaces line 2 as the second line with line 1 (step S10). After that, line 3 is transitioned to as the new second production line (step S5), and the processes from step S6 onwards are performed. The processes from step S3 to step S10 correspond to the transfer process.

[0047] In the process of step S9, if the equipment and products have been allocated to all of lines 1 to 5 (step S9: YES), the allocation unit 12 determines whether all of the products have been allocated to at least one of lines 1 to 5 (step S11). In other words, the allocation unit 12 determines whether the production of all of the products has been allocated to any of the production lines. If all of the products are manufactured on lines 1 to 5 (step S11: YES), the line design flow ends.

[0048] If all products have not been manufactured (step S11: NO), the allocation unit 12 performs a second-round allocation process to allocate equipment and products for the second round and beyond. Figure 12 is a flowchart of the second-round allocation process. Figure 12 shows the flow that is performed when there are products that have not been allocated to any of the manufacturing lines even after the first round of allocation of equipment and products to lines 1 to 5 has been performed.

[0049] In the second round allocation flow shown in FIG. 12, the allocation unit 12 selects line 1 as the first production line (step S121). The allocation unit 12 allocates unallocated equipment and products to line 1 one by one in order until at least one product whose production has not been decided can be manufactured (step S122). As a result, in this embodiment, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment corresponding to processes 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 16, and 25 to line 1 as shown in FIG. 9. The allocation unit 12 allocates products 12 to 15 to be manufactured using equipment corresponding to processes 1 to 11, 13, 15 to 17, 19, 20, and 22 to 25 to line 1. The allocation unit 12 determines the products 12 to 15 to be manufactured on line 1 (step S123). The allocating unit 12 returns to the equipment pool the unused equipment for process 9 that is not used in manufacturing products 12 to 15 among the equipment allocated to line 1 (step S124). The allocating unit 12 determines whether all products have been allocated to any of lines 1 to 5 (step S125).

[0050] If there are any products remaining that have not yet been assigned (step S125: NO), the assignment unit 12 replaces line 2, which is the second production line, with the first production line (step S126). In the process of step S126, a production line different from the production line to which equipment and products were previously assigned is selected in order to replace the previous production line. Thereafter, the process from step S122 onwards is performed on line 2 as the new first production line. In the process of step S125, if all products have been assigned to any of lines 1 to 5 (step S125: YES), the second round assignment flow ends. Note that in the second round assignment flow shown in FIG. 11, product assignment to lines 1 to 5 continues from the third round onwards until the products are assigned to any of the production lines.

[0051] When the second round allocation process shown in Figure 11 is completed, the allocation unit 12 outputs to the monitor of the output unit 40 an image showing the relationship between the products to be manufactured on each production line and the equipment and products allocated to each production line.

[0052] As described above, in the line design device 100 of this embodiment, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires process information, equipment information, and the number of required production lines. The allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for each process of one production line using the acquired number of lines and the number of owned equipment as constraints. Furthermore, each time the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment, it allocates products that can be manufactured on that production line. Similarly, after allocating products to one production line, the allocation unit 12 transitions the process to the next production line and repeats the allocation of equipment and product allocation until the acquired number of production lines is reached. That is, in this embodiment, the allocation of equipment and products to each production line is repeated using the number of production lines and the number of owned equipment as constraints until the number of production lines is reached. Therefore, the total number of equipment included in each designed production line does not exceed the number of owned equipment. Because the created process organization is a feasible organization, it is possible to avoid the creation of an unrealizable process organization that does not allow for limitations on the number of owned equipment, as in the past. That is, according to this configuration, the calculation time for process organization of a production line can be shortened, and the process organization time can be accelerated. As a result, according to the line design device 100 of this embodiment, the time required to create a process organization can be shortened when multiple products are manufactured by multiple production lines.

[0053] In addition, the allocating unit 12 of this embodiment creates a table (e.g., FIG. 3) that associates each production line with all processes. The allocating unit 12 uses the table to sequentially allocate equipment to each process of the selected line 1 until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. After allocating equipment to line 1, the allocating unit 12 transitions the processing to line 2, which is the next production line. The allocating unit 12 uses the table to sequentially allocate equipment from the number of pieces of equipment in the equipment pool to each process of line 2 until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured. The number shown in the equipment pool shown in FIG. 3 is the number obtained by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to line 1 from the number of pieces of equipment owned. In this embodiment, the upper limit of the number of pieces of equipment that can be allocated to line 2 is the number obtained by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to line 1 from the number of pieces of equipment owned, so that line 2 is never allocated with equipment exceeding the number of pieces of equipment owned. As a result, the total number of pieces of equipment provided on each production line does not exceed the number of pieces of equipment in stock, and the production line design device 100 of this embodiment can organize a feasible process. Furthermore, if there is even one product that can be produced on line 1, the process transitions to line 2. This allows the products to be gradually distributed to each production line, preventing the distribution of products from being biased toward one production line.

[0054] Furthermore, after the allocation for line 2 is completed, the allocation unit 12 of this embodiment refers to the process information and returns to the equipment pool any equipment that is not required for manufacturing the product that can now be manufactured on line 1. Using a table, the allocation unit 12 sequentially allocates equipment from the inventory in the equipment pool to each process on line 3 until one of the products specified in the process information becomes manufacturable. The amount of inventory in the equipment pool is the number of owned equipment minus the number of equipment allocated to line 1 and line 2 at the current time. In other words, equipment that is not used on line 1 can be allocated to line 3. This increases the number of products to be manufactured on line 3, further speeding up the process organization time.

[0055] Furthermore, after the allocation of equipment and products to all production lines in the first cycle has been completed, there are still unassigned products that must be manufactured. In this case, the allocation unit 12 repeats the allocation of equipment and products to production lines in the second cycle and beyond until the unassigned products are allocated to one of the production lines. In this embodiment, after the allocation of equipment and products to all production lines in the first cycle has been completed, the unassigned products are allocated to production lines in the second cycle and beyond. This ensures that the production of a product is assigned to one of the processes. Furthermore, by allocating multiple types of products, the line design device 100 can prevent products from being unevenly allocated to one production line.

[0056] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the products 1 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 3 are the same as the products 1 to 10 that can be manufactured on line 4. In this case, the allocating unit 12 allocates to line 3 the number of products that can be manufactured (10 types) by dividing the total number of manufacturing lines (5) by 3, which is obtained by subtracting the total number of lines 1 and 2 to which equipment has already been allocated (2). Since the value obtained by dividing 10 types by 3 is 3.33..., the allocating unit 12 allocates the production of three or four types of products to line 3. In other words, if the products that can be manufactured on the nth manufacturing line (n=3 in this embodiment) are the same as the products that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th manufacturing line, not all of the products that can be manufactured will be allocated to the nth manufacturing line, to which equipment and products were previously allocated. Instead, the number of types of products allocated to the nth production line is calculated by dividing the sum of the nth production line and the number m (in this embodiment, m=5) of all production lines to which equipment and products are allocated after the nth production line by (m-(n-1)). Therefore, the line design device 100 can further prevent the allocation of products from being biased toward one production line.

[0057] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the number of required pieces of equipment is equal to or greater than the number of production lines, i.e., if the same pieces of equipment can be allocated to all lines, the allocation unit 12 of this embodiment does not allocate the equipment and products. If the number of pieces of equipment owned is equal to or greater than the total number of production lines, there will be no shortage of equipment even if all of the equipment is allocated to all production lines. In this case, in this embodiment, no allocation of equipment and products is performed. As a result, if there is a surplus in the number of pieces of equipment owned, there is no need to organize the process with unnecessary restrictions.

[0058] <Modifications of the embodiment> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention, including, for example, the following modifications: In the above-described embodiment, part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware.

[0059] [Variation 1] In the above embodiment, an example of a manufacturing line design device that designs a product manufacturing line has been described. However, the configuration of the line design device 100 and the control executed by the line design device 100 can be modified. For example, the line design device 100 may not include any or all of the storage device 20, the input unit 30, the output unit 40, and the communication unit 50. For example, if the line design device 100 does not include the storage device 20, the input unit 30, or the output unit 40, the information acquisition unit 11 may acquire process information, equipment information, and the number of manufacturing lines from another device via the communication unit 50. The process organization created by the line design device 100 does not need to be displayed on the monitor of the output unit 40, and may be transmitted as data to another device.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the allocator 12 sequentially allocates equipment to each production line one by one until one of the products can be manufactured. However, the allocation order and the number of pieces of equipment allocated can be varied as long as equipment is not allocated to all processes simultaneously. For example, the allocator 12 may allocate equipment two at a time, or the number of pieces of equipment allocated may be different between the allocation for the first week and the allocation for the second week and thereafter. In the above embodiment, the allocator 12 allocated equipment for each process to the production line in order of increasing process number, starting with process 1, which has the smallest process number. However, allocation may be performed in a different manner. The allocator 12 may allocate equipment for each process to line 1 in odd-numbered order, specifically, equipment corresponding to processes 1, 3, 5, . . . , 2, 4, . . . sequentially, and may allocate equipment for line 2 in even-numbered order, specifically, equipment corresponding to processes 2, 4, 6, . . . , 1, 3, . . . sequentially.

[0061] In the above embodiment, when the products allocated to lines 3 and 4 are the same, the allocation unit 12 adjusts the number of types of products to be allocated to line 3 in consideration of the number of production lines to which product allocation has not been completed, but the method of allocating products can be modified. For example, when the products allocated to lines 3 and 4 are the same, the allocation unit 12 may allocate all of the products to line 3, and then allocate equipment to line 4 until one of the unallocated products can be manufactured.

[0062] In the second cycle allocation flow shown in FIG. 12, the allocation unit 12 sequentially allocates equipment to production lines until all unallocated products are allocated, but a different allocation method may be adopted. For example, even if all products can be allocated to one of the production lines by allocating products to line 1 in the second cycle allocation flow as in the above embodiment, the allocation unit 12 may equally allocate the products allocated to lines 3 and 4 in the first cycle to each production line. Note that in the above embodiment, if the value obtained by dividing the number of product types that can be manufactured on the nth production line by (m-(n-1)) is not an integer, the two integers closest to the divided value are used; for example, if the value is 3.33, the number of product types allocated to the nth production line is three or four.

[0063] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which different equipment is used to perform each step, but equipment may be reused between steps. Specifically, for example, equipment for performing step 13 and equipment for performing step 15 may be reused. Furthermore, equipment usable for steps 13 and 15 may also be reused for a different step 16. Furthermore, there may be equipment that can be reused for a combination of multiple steps. For example, equipment may be usable for steps 13 and 15, and different equipment may be usable for steps 17 and 20.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the allocator 12 performed the process of step S2 in Fig. 11, but the allocator 12 may allocate equipment and products without making a determination based on the number of owned equipment. Note that, in the above embodiment, one piece of equipment is used for each process, but two or more pieces of equipment may be used to perform each process, or a combination of multiple types of equipment may be used.

[0065] The table created by the allocator 12 in the above embodiment may be implemented in the form of a matrix or queue stored in memory. Alternatively, the allocator 12 may allocate equipment for each process in order according to a predetermined sequence, such as ascending order of process numbers, without using a table. In this case, the above embodiment can also be rephrased as follows: A manufacturing line design device, The allocating unit In the first production line, the equipment is allocated in a predetermined order to all the processes that can be performed by the first production line until a condition for manufacturing any one of the products is met; When the condition is met for the first manufacturing line, the equipment for the process is allocated in the predetermined order from the inventory obtained by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment held, for all the processes that can be taken by the second manufacturing line that has transitioned to the next process, until the condition is met.

[0066] [Variation 2] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a modified manufacturing line design method. In the manufacturing line design flow shown in FIG. 13, first, the information acquisition unit 11 performs an information acquisition process to acquire equipment information, process information, and the number of required manufacturing lines (step S21). The allocation unit 12 performs an allocation process to allocate equipment and products to each manufacturing line (step S22). In the allocation process, the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment for each process to line 1, using the number of manufacturing lines and the number of owned pieces of equipment as constraints. Each time the allocation unit 12 allocates equipment, it allocates products that can be manufactured on line 1. The allocation unit 12 transitions the process to the next line 2, and repeats the allocation of equipment and products until all the numbers of manufacturing lines are reached, after which the manufacturing line design flow ends.

[0067] [Variation 3] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, after the equipment and products are allocated to line 2 (step S6) and the products to be manufactured on line 1 are determined (step S7), unused equipment on line 1 is returned to the equipment pool (step S8). However, the timing of returning unused equipment can be modified. For example, the allocation unit 12 may select line 1 (step S3), allocate equipment and products to line 1 (step S4), and then return unused equipment on line 1 to the equipment pool. In this modified example, for the second manufacturing line, equipment that is not used on line 1 can be allocated to line 2. This increases the number of options for products to be manufactured on line 2, further speeding up the process scheduling time.

[0068] This aspect has been described above based on embodiments and modifications. However, the above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of this aspect and are not intended to limit this aspect. This aspect may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents thereof are included in this aspect. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it may be deleted as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 10...CPU 11…Information acquisition department 12…Distribution section 20…Storage device 21…Process information DB 22…Equipment information DB 30...Input section 40...Output section 50…Communications Department 100...Line design device

Claims

1. A manufacturing line design device for designing manufacturing lines for manufacturing multiple products using multiple manufacturing lines, comprising: An information acquisition unit, Equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process; process information that associates the products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products; an information acquisition unit that acquires the number of required manufacturing lines; an allocation unit that allocates the products and the equipment to the manufacturing line; Equipped with The allocating unit Allocating the equipment for each process to one of the production lines in order until one of the products can be manufactured, with the number of the production lines and the number of the equipment held as constraints; Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on the production line are allocated; The manufacturing line design device transitions the process to the next manufacturing line, and repeats the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached.

2. 2. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1, The allocating unit A table is created in which each of the manufacturing lines is associated with all of the processes; Using the table, the equipment is sequentially allocated to each of the processes of the first production line until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured; a manufacturing line design device that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, and allocates the equipment in order using the table until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured for each of the processes on the second manufacturing line, after subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment held.

3. 3. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 2, The allocating unit After the allocation for the second production line is completed, referring to the process information, the equipment that is not required for the production of the product that can now be produced on the first production line is added to the number of the equipment in possession; a manufacturing line design device that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, and allocates the equipment in order using the table until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured for each of the processes on the third manufacturing line, after subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the second manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment held.

4. 2. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1, The allocating unit A table is created in which each of the manufacturing lines is associated with all of the processes; Using the table, the equipment is sequentially allocated to each of the processes of the first production line until any of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured; a manufacturing line design device that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line, and uses the table to allocate the equipment in order until each of the processes on the second manufacturing line becomes capable of manufacturing any of the products specified in the process information, by subtracting the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the first manufacturing line from the number of pieces of equipment in possession and adding the number of pieces of equipment that are not required for manufacturing the products that can now be manufactured on the first manufacturing line to the number of pieces of equipment in possession.

5. 5. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 3, The allocating unit After the allocation of the equipment to all of the manufacturing lines and the allocation of the products in the first round have been completed, if there are any unallocated products that must be manufactured, Allocating the equipment for each process from the equipment not allocated to the one production line; The manufacturing line design device transitions the process to the next manufacturing line, and repeats the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the unallocated products are allocated to any one of the manufacturing lines.

6. 6. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 2, The allocating unit When allocating the equipment and the products to m (m is a natural number) manufacturing lines, When the product that can be manufactured on the nth (n=1, 2, ..., m-1) production line is the same as the product that can be manufactured on the (n+1)th production line, A manufacturing line design device that allocates the number of types of products, which is the number of types of products that can be manufactured on the nth manufacturing line divided by (m-(n-1)), to the nth manufacturing line.

7. 7. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1, The allocating unit When the number of pieces of equipment owned by at least one of the respective equipment is less than the total number of the manufacturing lines, the equipment is allocated and the products are allocated; The manufacturing line design device does not allocate the equipment and the products when the number of each piece of equipment held is equal to or greater than the total number of the manufacturing lines.

8. A manufacturing line design method for designing a plurality of manufacturing lines for manufacturing a plurality of products, the method comprising: An information acquisition step, Equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process; process information that associates the products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products; an information acquisition step of acquiring the number of the required manufacturing lines; an allocation step of allocating the products and the equipment to the manufacturing line; Run In the allocating step, Allocating the equipment for each process to one of the production lines in order until any one of the products can be manufactured, with the number of the production lines and the number of the equipment held as constraints; Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on the production line are allocated; The method includes transitioning the process to the next manufacturing line, and repeating the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached.

9. A computer program for designing a plurality of production lines for manufacturing a plurality of products, comprising: An information acquisition function, Equipment information associating processes with the number of pieces of equipment available for each process; process information that associates the products with the processes required to manufacture each of the products; an information acquisition function for acquiring the number of required manufacturing lines; an allocation function for allocating the products and the equipment to the manufacturing line; on the computer, The sorting function is Allocating the equipment for each process to one of the production lines in order until any one of the products can be manufactured, with the number of the production lines and the number of the equipment held as constraints; Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on the production line are allocated; A computer program that transitions processing to the next manufacturing line and repeats the allocation of the equipment and the allocation of the products until the acquired number of manufacturing lines is reached.

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