A mixed integer mathematical model proposal for Seru loading problem A matheuristic method proposal for relatively large-scale problems Comparative analysis and demonstration of effectiveness This study discusses Seru Loading Problem, which is one of the problems encountered in seru production systems. A new mathematical model is proposed to obtain optimal worker and work load to specific seru design. For relatively large problems, we also propose a matheuristic approach, which is based on mathematical model. Tests results show that matheuristic approach is able to generate good-quality solutions. Figure A. Flow of the seru loading problem solution approaches Purpose: The aim of the study is to obtain optimal seru loading plans for seru production system that meets the speed of mass production systems and the product diversity capability of flexible production systems. Theory and Methods: We formulate the Seru Loading Problem as a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP), which can be solved by any standard MILP solver. Due to limited performance of the solvers in addressing relatively large instances, we propose a matheuristic approach that effectively presents high quality solutions for seru loading problem. Results: The comparison results illustrated that the results in the literature are improved in the range of 5.6% to 13% by the proposed mathematical model. All best results achieved with the matheuristic method are better than or equal to those achieved with the mathematical model under terminating conditions. There are significant differences in solution times between model and matheuristic. The mathematical model takes 30 and 182 times more than the matheuristic method. The results show that the proposed method is effective in both solution quality and solution time when making business-level decisions in the seru loading problem. Conclusion: To obtain optimal work force and work plans for seru loading problem, a new mathematical model and matheuristic approach are proposed. In future studies these approaches can be used in other seru-related problems such as seru balancing and line-seru conversion.