Rubber Mixing Logistics and Operations Sponsored by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

1. Rubber Mixing Logistics and Operations Sponsored by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Mixing Mechanics Changeover Requirement Problem Statement Objectives • 2-Batch Scheduling Policy • Provides the best intermediate tradeoff between work-in-process and processing time. • Two iterations of a compound’s first pass are processed before continuing with the compound’s mixing. • This policy utilizes nearly full capacity of the mixer, while minimizing WIP to the fullest. • Arena Modeling • Allows for parameter adjustments to individual models for further evaluating mixing and transportation policies • Provides an accurate tool for sensitivity analysis that accurately portrays real world results • Heuristic Applications • Examines the relationship between the number of mixers and mixing time when minimizing time or WIP level. • Provides manufacturing process decision support by considering tradeoffs between mixing time and WIP level. • Goodyear’s tire manufacturing involves mixing and blending of a number of raw materials into an untreated rubber stock at a mixing facility. • Each untreated rubber compound requires a different number of mixing passes and a unique pass fraction associated with each pass. • In addition, the mixer has a changeover requirement when switch between mixing different compounds. • Due to these complexities, the mixing facility faces large volumes of work-in-process and material handling issues. Develop a transportation model An optimal policy for transporting compounds was determined by modeling different scenarios using Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) and choosing the model with the lowest costs that satisfied the demand. The costs were based on transportation and holding costs of the material. 2. Improve production schedule An Arena Simulation of 8 compounds and an Excel model were cultivated to analyze the sensitivity of the system and provide a production schedule that minimizes WIP and production time. Excessive Work-In-Process Mixing Operations Results Acknowledgments Arena Model Scheduling Policy Comparison Mr. Philip Dunker, The B.I.G. Team, Dr. Edward De Meter, Dr. Paul Griffin, Dr. Yoo-SukHong, Dr. Catherine Harmonosky Goodyear Pacific Team Members Sangbeom Lee JaYoung Lee Daehoon Noh Wan Sheok Gan Douglas Sullivan Joseph Hosler