Hyundai Saves 540 Thousand USD Annually with Optimized Production Scheduling and Paint Shop Operations

About the Client

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech is one of Europe’s most advanced automotive production plants. Each day, it manufactures 1,400 vehicles across various models, assembled on its main production line.

Challenge

More Efficient Scheduling and Reduced Consumption without Compromising Production Flexibility

Hyundai faced two critical challenges in optimizing production:

• Welding Shop Scheduling – The welding shop was the main bottleneck in the production process, requiring careful consideration of multiple operational constraints.
• Reducing Paint Shop Material Consumption – Frequent colour changes led to significant solvent usage due to the necessary flushing of paint robots.

The goal was clear: achieve more efficient production sequencing and lower material consumption while preserving manufacturing flexibility.

Solution

Smart Production Scheduling: Smoother Operations, Fewer Downtimes, Greater Savings

In collaboration with Adastra, Hyundai developed an optimization model that:

• Accounts for up to 14 critical production constraints when sequencing vehicle models on the assembly line.
• Ensures balanced distribution of models, such as limiting identical models to a maximum of five in a row and maintaining defined spacing between models.
• Minimizes paint robot flushes, significantly reducing solvent usage.

The solution underwent a 22-day testing phase, which confirmed substantial improvements in production scheduling efficiency.

Impact

Optimal Production Scheduling in Just 5 Minutes

The optimization system is fully intuitive and user-friendly, allowing planners to easily define and adjust new constraints. Suppliers of coloured components had to adapt to a new delivery logic, initially facing some challenges; however, logistics remained uninterrupted.

Key Benefits:

• USD 540 thousands annual savings
• 3 months return on investment (ROI)
• 5 minutes – total time required by planners to complete full optimization

Reduced Material Consumption in Paint Shop:

• 74% Primer Improvement – Vehicles painted consecutively with the same primer colour increased by 74%, significantly reducing colour change frequency and minimizing paint robot flushes.
• 54% Topcoat Improvement – Vehicles painted consecutively with the same topcoat colour improved by 54%, cutting down excessive shade switching, decreasing material consumption, and reducing defects.

Hyundai now plans to extend the optimization approach to long-term scheduling (2–3 weeks ahead) and explore further savings in the paint shop. Other affiliated Hyundai plants have already expressed interest in adopting this solution.

“We needed to optimize our production schedule to keep the assembly line running smoothly and eliminate unnecessary interruptions. Adastra helped us create a model that accounts for all production constraints, optimizing the sequence of vehicles on the line. As a result, the grouping of cars by colour improved by an average of 74% for primer and 54% for topcoat applications. This significantly boosted painting efficiency and reduced the need for frequent robot flushes.”

Artur Heider

Production Planning Specialist, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech