Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine and model the in-plant operational efficiency of tow trucks of an automobile manufacturing plant. Even though, tow trucks contribute toward the improvement of operational performance, little case-based evidence prevail in the literature. For this purpose, a case study has been conducted in an Indian automobile manufacturer to address the prevailing issues in material handling (MH).

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, this paper focuses on grouping of the sequence parts and finding the shortest path among the groups. To elucidate this, an analytical framework based on the distance and stuffing quantity is proposed. A fuzzy Dijkstra’s algorithm is used to solve the issues in grouping of the sequence parts and shortest path among the groups.

Findings

This study addressed the four aspects of MH: move cost, time, distance and material by integrating the function of grouping, finding the shortest path and communication with low cost devices. The result shows that logistics routes and activities should not be interrupted by any of the external factors. The availability of stock is a key performance variable to attain efficiency. In addition to this, effective communication between the truck operators and the production line managers is key performance indicator.

Originality/value

The paper helps the automobile practitioners on increasing the efficiency of tow truck by systemizing the routes. Logistics routes and activities should not be interrupted by any of the external factors. The availability of stock is a key performance variable to attain efficiency. In addition to this, effective communication between the truck operators and the line managers is key performance indicator.

中文翻译：

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拖车的运营效率：来自印度汽车制造商的案例证据

目的

本文的目的是对汽车制造厂拖车的厂内运营效率进行检验和建模。尽管拖车有助于提高运营绩效，但文献中几乎没有基于案例的证据。为此，我们对一家印度汽车制造商进行了案例研究，以解决物料搬运 (MH) 中的普遍问题。

设计/方法/方法

最初，本文侧重于对序列部分进行分组并找到组之间的最短路径。为了阐明这一点，提出了基于距离和填充量的分析框架。模糊Dijkstra算法用于解决序列部分的分组问题和组间最短路径问题。

发现

本研究通过整合分组、寻找最短路径和与低成本设备通信的功能，解决了MH的四个方面：移动成本、时间、距离和材料。结果表明，物流路线和活动不应受到任何外部因素的干扰。库存的可用性是实现效率的关键绩效变量。除此之外，卡车操作员和生产线经理之间的有效沟通是关键绩效指标。

原创性/价值

本文通过系统化路线，帮助汽车从业者提高拖车效率。物流路线和活动不应受到任何外部因素的干扰。库存的可用性是实现效率的关键绩效变量。除此之外，卡车操作员和直线经理之间的有效沟通是关键绩效指标。