Maximizing the robustness for simple assembly lines with fixed cycle time and limited number of workstations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the multi-skilled workers assignment problem in complex assembly systems such as aircraft assembly lines. An adaptive binary particle swarm optimization (A-BPSO) algorithm is proposed, which is used to balance the workload of both assembly stations and processes and to minimize the human cost. Design/methodology/approach – Firstly, a cycle time model considering the cooperation of multi-skilled workers is constructed. This model provides a quantitative description of the relationship between the cycle time and multi-skilled workers by means of revising the standard learning curve with the “Partition-And-Accumulate” method. Then, to improve the accuracy and stability of the current heuristic algorithms, an A-BPSO algorithm that suits for the discrete optimization problems is proposed to assign multi-skilled workers to assembly stations and processes based on modified sigmoid limiting function. Findings – The proposed method has been successfully applied to a practical case, and the result justifies its advantage as well as adaptability to both theory and engineering application. Originality/value – A novel cycle time model considering cooperation of multi-skilled workers is constructed so that the calculation results of cycle time are more accurate and closer to reality. An A-BPSO algorithm is proposed to improve the stability and convergence in dealing with the problems with higher dimensional search space. This research can be used by the project managers and dispatchers on assembly field.

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Bucket Brigades to Increase Productivity in a Luxury Assembly Line

International Journal of Engineering Business Management ◽

10.5772/56837 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 28 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Filippo De Carlo ◽

Orlando Borgia ◽

Mario Tucci

Keyword(s):

Assembly Line ◽

Assembly Line Balancing ◽

Assembly Lines ◽

Manual Assembly ◽

Increase Productivity ◽

Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽

High Level ◽

Simple Assembly ◽

A Company ◽

Bucket Brigades

One of the most challenging issues in manual assembly lines is to achieve the best balance of workloads. There are many analytic approaches to solve this problem, but they are often neglected, since they are time-consuming and require high level engineering skills. Fashion bags packaging lines must comply with a number of different products with low production volumes, while the organization of the line is often under the mere responsibility of the foreman, who balances workloads in an empirical way. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of the arrangement of bucket brigades (BBs) for an assembly line of luxury handbags. To do this, it was decided to perform a testing activity in a company producing fashion handbags in order to compare the self-made design with the BBs and with a simple assembly line balancing problem algorithm. The originality of this research lies in the fact that there are no studies in the literature on BBs applied to the packaging of highly variable small batches. The results were excellent, showing the advantages of BBs in terms of flexibility, the reduction of work in the process and the ability to handle small anomalies.

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Enumerations and stability analysis of feasible and optimal line balances for simple assembly lines

Computers & Industrial Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.cie.2015.08.018 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 90 ◽

pp. 241-258 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Yuri N. Sotskov ◽

Alexandre Dolgui ◽

Tsung-Chyan Lai ◽

Aksana Zatsiupa

Keyword(s):

Stability Analysis ◽

Assembly Lines ◽

Optimal Line ◽

Simple Assembly

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A Problem Specific Heuristic for Smoothing the Workload in Simple Assembly Lines

IFAC-PapersOnLine ◽

10.1016/j.ifacol.2019.11.592 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 52 (13) ◽

pp. 2562-2565

Author(s):

Öncü Hazır ◽

Maher Agi ◽

Jérémy Guérin

Keyword(s):

Assembly Lines ◽

Simple Assembly

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On the Optimization Of Cycle Time in Assembly Lines with Parallel Workstations and Tasks Requiring Multiple Workers

2019 IEEE 15th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE) ◽

10.1109/coase.2019.8842915 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jinho Shin ◽

Minho Lee ◽

James R. Morrison

Keyword(s):

Cycle Time ◽

Assembly Lines

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Effective Cycle Time: A Real World Balancing Index for Paced Assembly Lines

Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Informatics ◽

10.20965/jaciii.2010.p0431 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 431-441

Author(s):

Konstantinos N. Genikomsakis ◽

◽

Vassilios D. Tourassis

Keyword(s):

Performance Measures ◽

Cycle Time ◽

Assembly Line ◽

Assembly Line Balancing ◽

Line Balancing ◽

Research Trend ◽

Time Variability ◽

Assembly Lines ◽

Simulation Experiments

Assembly Line Balancing (ALB) aims at optimally assigning the work elements required to assemble a product to an ordered sequence of workstations, while satisfying precedence constraints. Notwithstanding the advances and developments in ALB over the years, recent and thorough surveys on this field reveal that only a small percentage of companies employ ALB procedures to configure their assembly lines. This paradox may be attributed, to some extent, to the fact that ALB is addressed mostly under ideal conditions. Despite the time variability inherent in manufacturing tasks, there is a strong research trend towards designing and implementing algorithms that consider ALB on a deterministic basis and focus on the optimality of the proposed task assignments according to existing ALB performance measures. In this paper, the need to assess the performance of the proposed solutions of various algorithms in the literature is corroborated through simulation experiments on a benchmark ALB problem under more realistic conditions. A novel ALB index, namely the Effective Cycle Time, ECT, is proposed to assess the quality of alternative assembly line configurations in paced assembly lines operating under task times variations.

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