Heating and cooling phase scheduling algorithm for automotive curve glass production

The need to increase the service level of the automotive supply chain, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, leads to an increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of the production systems. The use of scheduling techniques and their implementation in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)/ Manufacturing Execution System (MES) systems can be a lever towards this improvement, remarkably in particularly constrained production systems. The presented case study stems from an industrial context and focuses on the heating and cooling phases of curved glass used in the automotive sector. In particular, the glass is subjected to a gradual heating process at temperatures between 500 and 600 °C, after which it softens and adheres by force of gravity to a curved mold located on the bottom of the heated room. The cooling phase takes place very slowly, to allow the material to acquire a greater flexural strength than a normal flat glass. The objective of this study is to present a scheduling algorithm to optimize the production of the curve glasses with different technical characteristics and heating and cooling phases. The implementation of this algorithm in the industrial context permits the increase of the ovens’ saturation and the respect of the delivery date of the production orders.