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ILOG Optimization Software Creates 'Virtual' Production Line for Nissan

11 December 2000

ILOG Optimization Software Creates 'Virtual' Production Line for Automaker Nissan

ILOG Solver Helps Increase Potential Production by 30 Percent at Europe's Most
                             Efficient Car Plant

    PARIS and Mountain View, Calif., Dec. 11 ILOG(R) , the world's leading supplier of software
components, today announced that its ILOG Solver(TM) optimization software has
helped automaker Nissan add a "virtual" third production line at its factory
in Sunderland, UK, allowing three car models to be built on two lines,
resulting in substantial savings from not having to build a new line. In
addition, the ILOG software, part of a scheduling system developed by
PA Consulting, has increased potential production by around 30 percent without
any significant investment, making Europe's most efficient car production
facility even more productive.
    The PA Consulting-ILOG scheduling tool is believed to be the first tool of
its kind, capable of producing end-to-end, parallel car sequencing tasks for a
whole week's production. This was accomplished while accommodating plant line
crossovers where cars can go from one body shop to the two paint lines, and
from either paint line to either trim and chassis line. ILOG Views(TM), ILOG's
top-selling graphical user interface tool, is also a part of the scheduling
solution. It powers the user-friendly and visually rich interface that allows
the effect of sequence changes to be clearly viewed and monitored.

    The Dilemma: Three Car Models on Two Lines
    The Nissan Sunderland plant produces around 334,000 cars each year
-- 38 complete cars per hour, every hour -- a production run rate that has
earned the plant the reputation as Europe's most efficient automotive plant,
and resulted in its selection to manufacture the company's new Almera model
for the European market. At the same time, the plant will continue to produce
the Micra and Primera models. The goal is to increase overall efficiency so
that production of all three car models can be accommodated on the
two existing production lines without interruption. The new scheduling system,
incorporating ILOG's market-leading scheduling software, has enabled
scheduling of the third vehicle model to be mixed among the existing two main
production lines, while maintaining production of the two other models.
    "Today, up to 70 percent of all Nissans sold in Europe originate at
Sunderland," said Frank Berkovits, Production Planning Manager, Nissan
Sunderland plant. "The new scheduling tool from PA Consulting and ILOG not
only gives us better scheduling capabilities but has also reduced the order
cycle time and given greater flexibility to our customers. This leading-edge
tool reinforces Nissan's position at the forefront of technology applications
in car production."

    Optimized scheduling delivers the business benefits
    The primary benefit of the system is that it enables three car models to
be built with the existing facilities at Sunderland without major retooling or
the addition of another production line. Further benefits of the new
scheduling system include:

    -- Eliminates the need for resequencing vehicles while they are in storage
       buffers between major sections of the plant. Storage buffers are used
       by many car manufacturers to help overcome scheduling problems
    -- Supports strategic "what if" investigation so that, for example, the
       impact of potential changes to operational rules or constraints within
       the plant can be fully investigated
    -- Schedule adherence rose from 3 percent to 90 percent after the system's
       implementation
    -- Schedule results can be produced in minutes instead of days.

    "This Nissan application is the perfect example of optimization,
specifically, how companies can maximize the output of existing resources,"
said Denis Sennechael, sales director for ILOG's Automotive Division, based in
Detroit. "The competitive advantages of ILOG Solver are drawn from the
strengths of constraint programming technologies. This provides production
planners with the most accurate, up-to-date vehicle sequencing information."