Assembly line balancing is the problem of assigning tasks to workstations by optimizing a performance measure while satisfying precedence relations between tasks and cycle time restrictions. Many exact, heuristic and metaheuristic approaches have been proposed for solving simple straight and U-shaped assembly line balancing problems. In this study, a quite new optimization algorithm, Bacterial ...

Products such as cars, trucks, and heavy machinery are assembled by two-sided assembly line. Assembly line balancing has significant impacts on the performance and productivity of flow line manufacturing systems and is an active research area for several decades. This paper addresses the line balancing problem of a two-sided assembly line in which the tasks are to be assigned at L side or R sid...

Time and space assembly line balancing considers realistic multi-objective versions of the classical assembly line balancing industrial problems. It involves the joint optimisation of conflicting criteria such as the cycle time, the number of stations, and/or the area of these stations. The different problems included in this area also inherit the precedence constraints and the cycle time limit...

The classical assembly line balancing problem consists of assigning assembly work to workstations. In the presence of setup times that depend on the sequence of tasks assigned to each workstation, the problem becomes more complicated given that two interdependent problems, namely assignment and sequencing, must be solved simultaneously. The hierarchical nature of these two problems also suggest...

In this paper we are to present a practical application of Axiomatic Design (AD) methodology, as a roadmap to lean production, in redesigning a car body assembly line. Axiomatic Design theory provides a framework to simplify the whole problem. According to the AD principles, a hierarchical structure has been developed. The developed structure originated in lean manufacturing principles and exis...

A new hybrid tabu search (HTS) method for solving assembly line balancing problems is proposed in this paper. The tabu search (TS) method is combined with the genetic algorithm (GA) to identify and provide solutions for assembly line balancing problems. With the proposed HTS method, the TS method can well address the number of tasks assigned for each workstation, while the GA can also assign th...

We present a new mathematical model for the assembly line balancing problem with the objective of maximizing the line comfort to operators. Besides minimizing discrepancies between the ergonomic risks of workstations, balancing is subject to temporal and spatial conditions for the workstations. To evaluate the performance of the proposed model, we compare it with other mathematical model whose ...

Robotic assembly line balancing (RALB) is specific for robotic assembly, where different robots require different assembly times to perform the same task because of their specialization. The problem includes optimal assignment of robots to line stations and balanced distribution of work between different stations. It aims at maximizing the production rate of the line. This problem is solved by ...

Certain types of manufacturing processes can be modelled by assembly line balancing problems. In this work we deal with a specific assembly line balancing problem that is know as the assembly line worker assignment and balancing problem (ALWABP). This problem appears in settings where tasks must be assigned to workers, and workers to work stations. Task processing times are worker specific, and...

In this paper, we present an extension to the TSALB problem (Time and Space constrained Assembly Line Balancing) with ergonomic risk restrictions. This ergonomic risk is defined from the task durations and their categories regarding to the risk factor for the workers. A study is presented through a case linked to an engine assembly line in the Automobile industry, considering variable demand.