A mixed-model assembly line requires the solution of a short-term sequencing problem which decides on the succession of different models launched down the line. A famous solution approach stemming from the Toyota Production System is the so called Level Scheduling, which aims at distributing the...

Component commonality, the use of the same version of a component across multiple products, is increasingly considered as a promising way to offer high external variety while retaining low internal variety in operations. However, increasing commonality has both positive and negative cost...