工位数固定的U型拆卸线部分拆卸平衡问题

为提高工位数固定的U型拆卸线拆卸效率, 减少有害部件对操作人员的潜在威胁, 针对高价值零部件和有害零部件的拆卸需求, 本文提出了工位数固定的U型拆卸线部分拆卸平衡问题, 建立了以最小化节拍时间、高危工位数目和负载均衡为目标的优化模型, 并设计了改进的变邻域搜索算法进行求解. 在编码过程中提出一种基于零部件释放位置的选择策略, 以减少前继零部件拆卸顺序对编码的影响; 提出最小偏差二分法, 有效减少解码的迭代次数; 提出瓶颈挤压局部搜索策略, 用以优化节拍时间和均衡负载指标. 通过与其他算法对比, 结果表明改进的变邻域搜索算法求解具有优越性, 并且可实现对工位数固定的U型拆卸线部分拆卸平衡问题的高效求解.     

Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm for assembly line balancing

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 relatively new optimization algorithm, Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm (BFOA), based heuristic approach is proposed for solving simple straight and U-shaped assembly line balancing problems. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated using a well-known data set taken from the literature in which the number of tasks varies between 7 and 111, and results are also compared with both an ant-colony-optimization-based heuristic approach and a genetic-algorithm-based heuristic approach. The proposed algorithm provided optimal solutions for 123 out of 128 (96.1 %) test problems in seconds and is proven to be promising.     

A hybrid genetic algorithm approach on multi-objective of assembly planning problem

In practice, modeling an assembly system often requires assigning a set of operations to a set of workstations. The aim is to optimize some performance indices of an assembly line. This assignation is usually a tedious design procedure so a significant amount of manpower is required to obtain a good work plan. Poor assembly planning may significantly increase the cost of products and reduce productivity. However, these optimization problems fall into the class of NP-hard problems. Finding an optimal solution in an acceptable time is difficult, even using a powerful computer. This study presents a hybrid genetic algorithm approach to the problems of assembly planning with various objectives, including minimizing cycle time, maximizing workload smoothness, minimizing the frequency of tool change, minimizing the number of tools and machines used, and minimizing the complexity of assembly sequences. A self-tuning method was developed to correct infeasible chromosomes. Several examples were employed to illustrate the proposed approach. Experimental results indicated that the proposed method can efficiently yield many alternative assembly plans to support the design and operation of a flexible assembly system.     

A Simulated Annealing algorithm for a mixed model assembly U-line balancing type-I problem considering human efficiency and Just-In-Time approach

This research deals with balancing a mixed-model U-line in a Just-In-Time (JIT) production system. The research intends to reduce the number of stations via balancing the workload and maximizing the weighted efficiency, which both are considered as the objectives of this research paper.After balancing the line and determining the number of stations, the labor assignment policy should be set. In this study, it was assumed that there are two types of operators: permanent and temporary. Both types can work in regular and overtime periods. Based on their skill levels, workers are classified into four types. The sign at each work station indicates types of workers allowed to work at that station. An alert system using the hybrid kanban systems was also considered. To solve this problem, a Simulated Annealing algorithm was applied in the following three stages. First, the balancing problem was solved and the number of stations was determined. Second, workers were assigned to the workstations in which they are qualified to work. Following that, an alert system based on the kanban system was designed to balance the work in the process inventory. This was achieved by defining control points based on the processing time and making control decisions to minimize the number of kanban cards. In the proposed SA algorithm, two methods for the temperature cooling schedule were considered and two methods were defined for determining the number of neighborhood search. The initial temperature was considered equal to the cost of the initial solution to reach the convergence situation as soon as possible. Five problems were solved in small size using the GAMS software. The results obtained from the GAMS software were compared with those obtained from the SA algorithm to determine the performance difference. The computational results demonstrated that the SA algorithm is more consistent with the answers obtained. Also seven large scale problems were solved. The results showed that the SA algorithm still have better reliability. To show the efficiency of the proposed SA algorithm, an axel assembly company was studied. To satisfy demands and reduce backlogging, a mixed model assembly line was designed for this case study. The results showed that the mixed model assembly line designed using the SA algorithm had good efficiency.     

A hybrid genetic algorithm for mixed model assembly line balancing problem with parallel workstations and zoning constraints

In this paper, we propose a hybrid genetic algorithm to solve mixed model assembly line balancing problem of type I (MMALBP-I). There are three objectives to be achieved: to minimize the number of workstations, maximize the workload smoothness between workstations, and maximize the workload smoothness within workstations. The proposed approach is able to address some particular features of the problem such as parallel workstations and zoning constraints. The genetic algorithm may lack the capability of exploring the solution space effectively. We aim to improve its exploring capability by sequentially hybridizing the three well known heuristics, Kilbridge & Wester Heuristic, Phase-I of Moodie & Young Method, and Ranked Positional Weight Technique, with genetic algorithm. The proposed hybrid genetic algorithm is tested on 20 representatives MMALBP-I and the results are compared with those of other algorithms.     

A heuristic approach for U-shaped assembly line balancing to improve labor productivity

The assembly line balancing problem is a non deterministic polynomial type planning problem for mass production. Layout design changes constitute a major decision that yields investment for assembly operations and numerous heuristics have been reported in the literature for solving the line balancing problems. U-shaped assembly layout offers several benefits over traditional straight-line layout in implementation of lean manufacturing and Just-In-Time technology. In the paper an attempt has been made to evaluate labor productivity in U-shaped line system and straight line system. A Critical Path Method (CPM) based approach for U-shaped assembly line has been applied for assigning the task to the work stations for assembly line layout. Results show that the CPM based U-shaped approach performs better and improve the labor productivity of assembly line layout.     

Balancing of parallel U-shaped assembly lines

A new hybrid assembly line design, called parallel U-shaped assembly line system, is introduced and characterised along with numerical examples for the first time. Different from existing studies on U-shaped lines, we combine the advantages of two individual line configurations (namely parallel lines and U-shaped lines) and create an opportunity for assigning tasks to multi-line workstations located in between two adjacent U-shaped lines with the aim of maximising resource utilisation. Utilisation of crossover workstations, in which tasks from opposite areas of a same U-shaped line can be performed, is also one of the main advantages of the U-shaped lines. As in traditional U-shaped line configurations, the newly proposed line configuration also supports the utilisation of crossover workstations. An efficient heuristic algorithm is developed to find well-balanced solutions for the proposed line configurations. Test cases derived from existing studies and modified in accordance with the proposed system in this study are solved using the proposed heuristic algorithm. The comparison of results obtained when the lines are balanced independently and when the lines are balanced together (in parallel to each other) clearly indicates that the parallelisation of U-shaped lines helps decrease the need for workforce significantly.     

加工与装配车间集成调度的多目标优化模型

为解决一类具有多品种混流加工作业车间和流水装配车间的两阶段集成调度优化问题,以加工线最大完工时间和产品总生产完工时间最小为目标,并考虑通过对零部件加工提前完工和装配线等待施加惩罚系数,以保证缓冲区在制品库存和装配过程均匀连续生产,建立加工与装配车间集成调度的多目标优化模型,充分利用加工和装配工序之间存在的并行性,合理确定零部件加工顺序和装配排序,以缩短产品生产周期,降低生产成本,提高生产设备利用率;同时针对所建立的模型,设计遗传算法进行求解,采用零件加工和产品装配的两段实数编码,以稳态复制对群体进行选择,对交叉和变异算子进行设计,以保证新个体满足工序先后约束的可行性,避免了非可行解的混入影响优化结果;最后通过实例验证所建调度模型的可行性和算法的有效性。     

Multi-rule Multi-objective Simulated Annealing Algorithm for Straight and U Type Assembly Line Balancing Problems

The task of balancing of assembly lines is of considerable industrial importance. It consists of assigning operations to workstations in a production line in such a way that (1) no assembly precedence constraint is violated, (2) no workstations in the line takes longer than a predefined cycle time to perform all tasks assigned to it, and (3) as few workstations as possible are needed to perform all the tasks in the set. This paper presents a new multiple objective simulated annealing (SA) algorithm for simple (line) and U type assembly line balancing problems with the aim of maximizing “smoothness index” and maximizing the “line performance” (or minimizing the number of workstations). The proposed algorithm makes use of task assignment rules in constructing feasible solutions. The proposed algorithm is tested and compared with literature test problems. The proposed algorithm found the optimal solutions for each problem in short computational times. A detailed performance analysis of the selected task assignment rules is also given in the paper.     

A genetic algorithm based approach for simultaneously balancing and sequencing of mixed-model U-lines with parallel workstations and zoning constraints

This paper presents a Priority-Based Genetic Algorithm (PGA) based method for the simultaneously tackling of the mixed-model U-shape assembly line (MMUL) line balancing/model sequencing problems (MMUL/BS) with parallel workstations and zoning constraints and allows the decision maker to control the process to create parallel workstations and to work in different scenarios. In the presented method, simulated annealing based fitness evaluation approach (SABFEA) is developed to be able to make fitness function calculations easily and effectively. A new fitness function is adapted to MMULs for aiming at minimizing the number of workstations as primary goal and smoothing the workload between-within workstations by taking all cycles into consideration. A numerical example to clarify the solution methodology is presented. Performance of the proposed approach is tested through sets of test problem with randomly generated minimum part sets. The results of the computational experiments indicate that SABFEA works with PGA very concordantly; and it is an effective method in solving MMUL/BS with parallel workstations and zoning constraints.     

A hybrid algorithm for allocating tasks,operators, and workstations in multi-manned assembly lines

In a car, there are approximately 30,000 parts produced by many different industries. This is due to the complexity and enormity of the automotive industry chain. The vehicle assembly process comprises welding, painting, prefabrication, and final entire-vehicle assembly. The assembly line has the largest labor force, which should be arranged and balanced to increase production efficiency and reduce labor force requirements. Unlike traditional studies on assembly line balancing problems (ALBPs), this study considers the characteristics of the automotive industry, such as multi-manned workstations, minimization in terms of the numbers of operators and workstations for streamlined production, budget constraints, the optimization of both task and operator allocation among workstations, and the determination of the start/end processing time of each task at different workstations. To address these NP-hard problems, a hybrid heuristic approach that combines the procedure of building feasible balancing solutions and the simulated annealing algorithm is proposed to map out an optimal line balancing plan for multi-manned workstations and to reduce the required workspace for shop operations. Based on the design and analysis of experiments, the effects of the maximum number of allowed operators per workstation and those of the cycle time on ALBP solutions are explored. The optimal combination of algorithm parameters is also determined. The results of this study can serve as a practical reference in planning the allocation of tasks, workstations, and operators in the industry.     

Event and object oriented simulation to fast evaluate operational objectives of mixed model assembly lines problems

In this paper an event and object oriented simulator for assembly lines is presented. The tool, developed in Java, is capable to simulate mixed model assembly lines, with stochastic task times, parallel stations, fixed scheduling sequences, and buffers within workstations. The simulator is a flexible supporting tool in finding solution of the mixed model assembly line balancing problem (and the optimal sequencing and buffer allocation problems associated to it). It is capable to immediately calculate the throughput of a complex line, by simply receiving as inputs three arrays representing: the task times durations, the line configuration (number of workcentres, of buffers within them, of parallel workstations in each workcentre, of tasks assigned to each workcentre), and the sequence of models entering the line. Its fastness and flexibility allow its utilization in those algorithms and procedures where the evaluation of a fitness function (which includes the throughput as performance indicator) has to be performed several times. It allows overcoming the limit of using others measures of throughput, presented in literature, that are poorly correlated to its real value when the complexity of the line increases. The simulator is an expandable tool; in its current version provides the possibility to simulate both straight and U-shaped lines, and to generate both random and fixed sequences of models entering the line.     

Lexicographic bottleneck mixed-model assembly line balancing problem: Artificial bee colony and tabu search approaches with optimised parameters

The lexicographic bottleneck assembly line balancing problem is a recently introduced problem which aims at obtaining a smooth workload distribution among workstations. This is achieved hierarchically. The workload of the most heavily loaded workstation is minimised, followed by the workload of the second most heavily loaded workstation and so on. This study contributes to knowledge by examining the application of the lexicographic bottleneck objective on mixed-model lines, where more than one product model is produced in an inter-mixed sequence. The main characteristics of the lexicographic bottleneck mixed-model assembly line balancing problem are described with numerical examples. Another contribution of the study is the methodology used to deal with the complex structure of the problem. Two effective meta-heuristic approaches, namely artificial bee colony and tabu search, are proposed. The parameters of the proposed meta-heuristics are optimised using response surface methodology, which is a well-known design of experiments technique, as a unique contribution to the expert and intelligent systems literature. Different from the common tendency in the literature (which aims to optimise one parameter at a time), all parameters are optimised simultaneously. Therefore, it is shown how a complex production planning problem can be solved using sophisticated artificial intelligence techniques with optimised parameters. The methodology used for parameter setting can be applied to other metaheuristics for solving complex problems in practice. The performances of both algorithms are assessed using well-known test problems and it is observed that both algorithms find promising solutions. Artificial bee colony algorithm outperforms tabu search in minimising the number of workstations while tabu search shows a better performance in minimising the value of lexicographic bottleneck objective function.     

A hybrid ant colony algorithm for U-line balancing and rebalancing in just-in-time production environment

U-line balancing is an important problem for designing a new U-line. It is about combining a finite set of tasks to form workstations optimally with the restriction of given precedence relationships in a new U-line. As the demand varies, the U-line should be rebalanced to eliminate waste and improve the production efficiency as part of just-in-time principles. If all machines can be moved freely, the rebalancing problem equals to the balancing problem. In practice, some machines are stationary or need certain moving cost. In this paper, U-line rebalancing problem is formalized with respect to minimization the moving cost of machines and labor cost. The walking time of operators is considered to avoid generating awkward walking path. A new hybrid algorithm of ant colony optimization and filtered beam search is presented to solve the problem. The hybrid algorithm adopts the framework of ant colony optimization. In the process of constructing path, each ant explores several nodes for one step and chooses the best one by global and local evaluation at a given probability. Computational results show that the proposed algorithm performs quite effectively for solving U-line balancing problems in the literature by comparing to the existing solutions. Finally, the proposed algorithm for solving U-line rebalancing problem is demonstrated with an example and also yields optimal solutions.     

Balancing U-shaped assembly lines with resource dependent task times: A Simulated Annealing approach

The advent of Just-in-Time (JIT) and Group Technology philosophies has popularized U-shaped assembly lines, which help overcome many of the disadvantages, like line inflexibility, job monotony, large inventories, etc., typically associated with straight assembly lines. Although U-shaped layout has demonstrated its supremacy over the traditional straight layout, the problem of U-shaped assembly line balancing (ULB) is much more complex. The extant literature on ULB assumes that each assembly task requires a fixed (or no) equipment and a fixed number of workers. However, it is often desirable to reduce certain task times by assigning more workers or alternative equipments at a given workstation. The problem in such cases is to assign not only the task but also resource alternatives (number of workers and equipment type) to workstations. Research on such resource dependent U-shaped assembly line balancing (RDULB) is scarce. We address the problem of RDULB and propose a Simulated Annealing (SA) based metaheuristic, which gives optimal solution for most of the small-to-medium problem instances. For very large problems, while SA generates a good feasible solution within half an hour to 1.5 h, Cplex is unable to find a single feasible solution even after 10 times the CPU time required by SA.     

The type E simple assembly line balancing problem: A mixed integer linear programming formulation

Although the simple assembly line balancing problem (SALBP) is the topic of many studies, typically they either consider minimizing the number of stations for a given cycle time (called type one), or minimizing the cycle time for a given number of stations (called type two). Rarely, type E of the problem has been considered. In the type E, cycle time and number of stations are both decision variables, and the objective is to maximize the line efficiency. This paper presents a mixed integer linear programming formulation for the type E simple assembly line balancing problem. Moreover, to further strengthen the presented formulation, two enhancement techniques in the form of valid inequalities and auxiliary variables are proposed. As the secondary objectives of the problem, minimization of the number of stations, the cycle time, and the smoothness index are studied as well. In the case of workload smoothing, three different linearization methods are employed and compared for minimizing the smoothness index. The results of computational study on the benchmark data set demonstrate the efficacy of the improved formulation     

Assembly line balancing and group working: A heuristic procedure for workers’ groups operating on the same product and workstation

In this paper, we examine an assembly line balancing problem that differs from the conventional one in the sense that there are multi-manned workstations, where workers’ groups simultaneously perform different assembly works on the same product and workstation. This situation requires that the product is of sufficient size, as for example in the automotive industry, so that the workers do not block each other during the assembly work. The proposed approach here results in shorter physical line length and production space utilization improvement, because the same number of workers can be allocated to fewer workstations. Moreover, the total effectiveness of the assembly line, in terms of idle time and production output rate, remains the same. A heuristic assembly line balancing procedure is thus developed and illustrated. Finally, experimental results of a real-life automobile assembly plant case and well-known problems from the literature indicate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach in practice.     

A MIP approach for balancing transfer line with complex industrial constraints

This paper deals with a novel line balancing problem for flexible transfer lines composed of identical CNC machines. The studied lines are paced and serial, i.e. a part to be machined passes through a sequence of workstations. At least one CNC machine is installed at each workstation. The objective is to assign a given set of operations required for the machining of the part to a sequence of workstations while minimizing the total number of machines used. This problem is subject to precedence, exclusion and inclusion constraints. In addition, accessibility has to be considered. Moreover, the workstation workload depends on the sequence in which the operations are assigned because of setup times related to the change and displacement of tools, rotation of the part, etc. It is a novel line balancing problem, and we highlight its particularities by reviewing the close problems existing in the literature. Then, a mathematical model as a mixed-integer program is suggested. A procedure for computing ranges for variables is given. Experimental computations with ILOG Cplex are reported.     

A genetic algorithm based approach to the mixed-model assembly line balancing problem of type II

Mixed-model assembly lines allow for the simultaneous assembly of a set of similar models of a product, which may be launched in the assembly line in any order and mix. As current markets are characterized by a growing trend for higher product variability, mixed-model assembly lines are preferred over the traditional single-model assembly lines.

This paper presents a mathematical programming model and an iterative genetic algorithm-based procedure for the mixed-model assembly line balancing problem (MALBP) with parallel workstations, in which the goal is to maximise the production rate of the line for a pre-determined number of operators.

The addressed problem accounts for some relevant issues that reflect the operating conditions of real-world assembly lines, like zoning constraints and workload balancing and also allows the decision maker to control the generation of parallel workstations.     

Modeling and solving mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with setups. Part I: A mixed integer linear programming model

This paper is the first one of the two papers entitled “modeling and solving mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with setups”, which has the aim of developing the mathematical programming formulation of the problem and solving it with a hybrid meta-heuristic approach. In this current part, a mixed-integer linear mathematical programming (MILP) model for mixed-model assembly line balancing problem with setups is developed. The proposed MILP model considers some particular features of the real world problems such as parallel workstations, zoning constraints, and sequence dependent setup times between tasks, which is an actual framework in assembly line balancing problems. The main endeavor of Part-I is to formulate the sequence dependent setup times between tasks in type-I mixed-model assembly line balancing problem. The proposed model considers the setups between the tasks of the same model and the setups because of the model switches in any workstation. The capability of our MILP is tested through a set of computational experiments. Part-II tackles the problem with a multiple colony hybrid bees algorithm. A set of computational experiments is also carried out for the proposed approach in Part-II.