Heuristic production line balancing problem solution with MATLAB software programming

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 750-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aysun Türkmen ◽  
Yalcin Yesil ◽  
Mahmut Kayar
Keyword(s):  
Computer Program ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Matlab Software ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weight Method ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find the most efficient assembly line balancing solution across many heuristic line balancing methods, in assistance with a developed computer program. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, assembly line balancing problem was analyzed using t-shirt and knitted pants data. A computer program using MATLAB software for the solution of assembly line balancing problems has been developed. In this study, following heuristic assembly line balancing methods were applied: Hoffman method; position weight method; COMSOAL method; and Kilbridge and Wester method. A MATLAB program has been developed by taking into account of theoretical solution of all these methods. Later the program is developed further by analyzing solutions made manually and is made to verify the developed program. Findings Pre-studies which were conducted in order to decide which programming language would be the best choice for line balancing methods’ application came out with the result that MATLAB, from between C, C++, C# and Java, would be the best software choice. The main reason for this choice is that MATLAB is a powerful matrix operation software with a powerful user interface designing tool and has the tools to make development program to be used universally in every computer. Originality/value When the researches were investigated, it is clearly seen that, this study is the first research on using computer program for solving assembly line balancing problem.

A multi-manned assembly line balancing problem with classified teams: a new approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Yilmaz ◽  
Mustafa Yilmaz
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Test Problems ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Line Test ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽  
First Time

Purpose – Within team-oriented approaches, tasks are assigned to teams before being assigned to workstations as a reality of industry. So it becomes clear, which workers assemble which tasks. Design/methodology/approach – Team numbers of the assembly line can increase with the number of tasks, but at the same time, due to physical situations of the stations, there will be limitations of maximum working team numbers in a station. For this purpose, heuristic assembly line balancing (ALB) procedure is used and mathematical model is developed for the problem. Findings – Well-known assembly line test problems widely used in the literature are solved to indicate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach in practice. Originality/value – This paper draws attention to ALB problem in which workers have been assigned to teams in advance due to the need for specialized skills or equipment on the line for the first time.

An immune genetic algorithm for simple assembly line balancing problem of type 1

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-ye Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Immune Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽  
Simple Assembly ◽  
First Time

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop an immune genetic algorithm (IGA) to solve the simple assembly line balancing problem of type 1 (SALBP-1). The objective is to minimize the number of workstations and workstation load for a given cycle time of the assembly line. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops a new solution method for SALBP-1, and a user-defined function named ψ(·) is proposed to convert all the individuals to satisfy the precedence relationships during the operation of IGA. Findings Computational experiments suggest that the proposed method is efficient. Originality/value An IGA is proposed to solve the SALBP-1 for the first time.

Multi-manned assembly line balancing problem with balanced load density

2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Yilmaz ◽  
Mustafa Yilmaz
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Assembly Lines ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Balance Task ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽  
First Time

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is balancing multi-manned assembly lines with load-balancing constraints in addition to conventional ones Most research works about the multi-manned assembly line balancing problems are focused on the conventional industrial measures that minimize total number of workers, number of multi-manned workstations or both. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides a remedial constraint for the model to balance task load density for each worker in workstations. Findings – Comparisons between the proposed mathematical model and the existing multi-manned mathematical model show a quite promising better task load density performance for the proposed approach. Originality/value – In this paper, a mathematical model that combines the minimization of multi-manned stations, worker numbers and difference of task load density of workers is proposed for the first time.

Robust optimization of resource-constrained assembly line balancing problems with uncertain operation times

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenrui Jin ◽  
Zhaoxu He ◽  
Qiong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Algorithm ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Whale Optimization Algorithm ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Resource Constrained ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Whale Optimization ◽  
Minmax Regret ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem

PurposeDue to the market trend of low-volume and high-variety, the manufacturing industry is paying close attention to improve the ability to hedge against variability. Therefore, in this paper the assembly line with limited resources is balanced in a robust way that has good performance under all possible scenarios. The proposed model allows decision makers to minimize a posteriori regret of the selected choice and hedge against the high cost caused by variability.Design/methodology/approachA generalized resource-constrained assembly line balancing problem (GRCALBP) with an interval data of task times is modeled and the objective is to find an assignment of tasks and resources to the workstations such that the maximum regret among all the possible scenarios is minimized. To properly solve the problem, the regret evaluation, an exact solution method and an enhanced meta-heuristic algorithm, Whale Optimization Algorithm, are proposed and analyzed. A problem-specific coding scheme and search mechanisms are incorporated.FindingsTheory analysis and computational experiments are conducted to evaluated the proposed methods and their superiority. Satisfactory results show that the constraint generation technique-based exact method can efficiently solve instances of moderate size to optimality, and the performance of WOA is enhanced due to the modified searching strategy.Originality/valueFor the first time a minmax regret model is considered in a resource-constrained assembly line balancing problem. The traditional Whale Optimization Algorithm is modified to overcome the inferior capability and applied in discrete and constrained assembly line balancing problems.

Mixed-model multi-manned assembly line balancing problem: a mathematical model and a simulated annealing approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdolreza Roshani ◽  
Farnaz Ghazi Nezami
Keyword(s):  
Simulated Annealing ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Mixed Integer ◽  
Computational Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mip Model ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem

Purpose This paper aims to study a generalized type of mixed-model assembly line with multi-manned workstations where multiple workers simultaneously perform different tasks on the same product. This special kind of assembly line is usually utilized to assemble different models of large products, such as buses and trucks, on the same production line. Design/methodology/approach To solve the mixed-model multi-manned assembly line balancing problem optimally, a new mixed-integer-programming (MIP) model is presented. The proposed MIP model is nondeterministic polynomial-time (NP)-hard, and as a result, a simulated annealing (SA) algorithm is developed to find the optimal or near-optimal solution in a small amount of computation time. Findings The performance of the proposed algorithm is examined for several test problems in terms of solution quality and running time. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has a satisfactory performance from computational time efficiency and solution accuracy. Originality/value This research is the very first study that minimizes the number of workers and workstations simultaneously, with a higher priority set for the number of workers, in a mixed-model multi-manned assembly line setting using a novel MIP model and an SA algorithm.

scholarly journals Assembly line balancing problem

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masood Fathi ◽  
Dalila Benedita Machado Martins Fontes ◽  
Matias Urenda Moris ◽  
Morteza Ghobakhloo
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Fitness Function ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Solution Methods ◽  
Reliable Performance ◽  
Constructive Heuristics ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem

Purpose The purpose of this study is to first investigate the efficiency of the most commonly used performance measures for minimizing the number of workstations (NWs) in approaches addressing simple assembly line balancing problem (SALBP) for both straight and U-shaped line, and second to provide a comparative evaluation of 20 constructive heuristics to find solutions to the SALBP-1. Design/methodology/approach A total of 200 problems are solved by 20 different constructive heuristics for both straight and U-shaped assembly line. Moreover, several comparisons have been made to evaluate the performance of constructive heuristics. Findings Minimizing the smoothness index is not necessarily equivalent to minimizing the NWs; therefore, it should not be used as the fitness function in approaches addressing the SALBP-1. Line efficiency and the idle time are indeed reliable performance measures for minimizing the NWs. The most promising heuristics for straight and U-shaped line configurations for SALBP-1 are also ranked and introduced. Practical implications Results are expected to help scholars and industrial practitioners to better design effective solution methods for having the most balanced assembly line. This study will further help with choosing the most proper heuristic with regard to the problem specifications and line configuration. Originality/value There is limited research assessing the efficiency of the common objectives for SALBP-1. This study is among the first to prove that minimizing the workload smoothness is not equivalent to minimizing the NWs in SALBP-1 studies. This work is also one of the first attempts for evaluating the constructive heuristics for both straight and U-shaped line configurations.

A multiple rule-based genetic algorithm for cost-oriented stochastic assembly line balancing problem

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahad Foroughi ◽  
Hadi Gökçen
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Stochastic Assembly

Purpose This research aims to address the cost-oriented stochastic assembly line balancing problem (ALBP) and propose a chance-constrained programming model. Design/methodology/approach The cost-oriented stochastic ALBP is solved for small- to medium-sized problems. Owing to the non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP)-hardness problem, a multiple rule-based genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed for large-scale problems. Findings The experimental results show that the proposed GA has superior performance and efficiency compared to the global optimum solutions obtained by the IBM ILOG CPLEX optimization software. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, only one study has discussed the cost-oriented stochastic ALBP using the new concept of cost. Owing to the NP-hard nature of the problem, it was necessary to develop a heuristic or meta-heuristic algorithm for large data sets; this research paper contributes to filling this gap.

Workload smoothing in two-sided assembly lines

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Hu ◽  
Chunaxun Wu
Keyword(s):  
Assembly Line ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Idle Time ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Assembly Lines ◽  
Absolute Deviation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Smoothness Index ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽  
New Criteria

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define new criteria for measuring workload smoothness of two-sided assembly lines and propose an algorithm to solve a two-sided assembly line balancing problem focusing on distributing the idle time and the workload as evenly as possible among the workstations. Design/methodology/approach This paper points out that the mean absolute deviation (MAD) and the smoothness index (SI) used to measure the workload smoothing in one-sided assembly lines are both inappropriate to evaluate the workload balance among workstations in two-sided assembly lines, as the idle time occur at the beginning and in the middle of a cycle within workstations. Then, the finish-time-based SI and MAD (FSI and FMAD) are defined, and a heuristic procedure based on the core mechanism of Moodie and Young method is proposed to smooth the assembly workload in two-sided assembly lines. Findings The computational results indicate that the proposed heuristic algorithm combined with the FMAD is effective in distributing the idle time and the workload among workstations as evenly as possible in two-sided assembly lines. Practical implications The two-sided assembly line balancing problem with the objective of the line efficiency can be effectively solved by the proposed approach. Originality/value The FMAD is proposed to effectively improve the workload smoothing in two-sided assembly lines.

Optimization of a multi-constraint two-sided assembly line balancing problem using an improved imperialist competitive algorithm

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-282
Author(s):  
Mingshun Yang ◽  
Li Ba ◽  
Erbao Xu ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Yong Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Heuristic Method ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Imperialist Competitive Algorithm ◽  
Hill Climbing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Competitive Algorithm ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem

Purpose Assembly is the last step in manufacturing processes. The two-sided assembly line balancing problem (TALBP) is a typical research focus in the field of combinatorial optimization. This paper aims to study a multi-constraint TALBP-I (MC-TALBP-I) that involves positional constraints, zoning constraints and synchronism constraints to make TALBP more in line with real production. For enhancing quality of assembly solution, an improved imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) is designed for solving the problem. Design/methodology/approach A mathematical model for minimizing the weighted sum of the number of mated-stations and stations is established. An improved ICA is designed based on a priority value encoding structure for solving MC-TALBP-I. Findings The proposed ICA was tested by several benchmarks involving positional constraints, zoning constraints and synchronism constraints. This algorithm was compared with the late acceptance hill-climbing (LAHC) algorithm in several instances. The results demonstrated that the ICA provides much better performance than the LAHC algorithm. Practical implications The best solution obtained by solving MC-TALBP-I is more feasible for determining the real assembly solution than the best solution obtained by solving based TALBP-I only. Originality/value A novel ICA based on priority value encoding is proposed in this paper. Initial countries are generated by a heuristic method. An imperialist development strategy is designed to improve the qualities of countries. The effectiveness of the ICA is indicated through a set of benchmarks.

An integer-coded differential evolution algorithm for simple assembly line balancing problem of type 2

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijun Zhang ◽  
Qiong Yan ◽  
Yuanpeng Liu ◽  
Zhiqiang Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Differential Evolution ◽  
Assembly Line ◽  
Differential Evolution Algorithm ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing ◽  
Line Balancing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Evolution Algorithm ◽  
Assembly Line Balancing Problem ◽  
Simple Assembly

Purpose This paper aims to develop a new differential evolution algorithm (DEA) for solving the simple assembly line balancing problem of type 2 (SALBP-2). Design/methodology/approach Novel approaches of mutation operator and crossover operator are presented. A self-adaptive double mutation scheme is implemented and an elitist strategy is used in the selection operator. Findings Test and comparison results show that the proposed IDEA obtains better results for SALBP-2. Originality/value The presented DEA is called the integer-coded differential evolution algorithm (IDEA), which can directly deal with integer variables of SALBP-2 on a discrete space without any posterior conversion. The proposed IDEA will be an alternative in evolutionary algorithms, especially for various integer/discrete-valued optimization problems.

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