Simple heuristics for the assembly line worker assignment and balancing problem

We propose simple heuristics for the assembly line worker assignment and balancing problem. This problem typically occurs in assembly lines in sheltered work centers for the disabled. Different from the classical simple assembly line balancing problem, the task execution times vary according to the assigned worker. We develop a constructive heuristic framework based on task and worker priority rules defining the order in which the tasks and workers should be assigned to the workstations. A number of such rules are presented and their performance is compared via a three-fold analysis: using the heuristic as a stand-alone method, as an initial solution generator for meta-heuristics and as a decoder within an hybrid genetic algorithm, which is also presented and evaluated. Our results show that the heuristics are fast, they obtain good results as a stand-alone method and are efficient when used as a initial solution generator or as a solution decoder within more elaborate approaches.