Uniform Assembly Line Balancing with Stochastic Task Times in Just‐in‐time Manufacturing

Abstract

Recognising the enormous potential of just‐in‐time (JIT) concepts for boosting productivity and quality, an increasing number of US and European firms consider adopting JIT concepts in manufacturing. However, the transfer of a manufacturing policy from traditional to JIT always requires radical structural changes in a production line design. One typical example of these changes is uniform assembly which does not allow high variability in the production schedules. Consequently, major hindrance to uniform assembly is a random fluctuation of task processing times in assembly line balancing. This article proposes a heuristic which takes into account stochastic task processing times and further develops a work assignment with the lowest expected total cost as well as an assignment with the highest work completion probability crucial for the success of JIT manufacturing.

A classification of assembly line balancing problems

“…In this case, cost of capital can be decreased when tasks are assigned to the same station, which is typically enforced by zoning Shin and Min (1991) [t sto j prob j Co] HS Shtub (1984) [t sto , paj j Co] M, HS Shtub and Dar-El (1990) [j j m, c, score] M, HS Silverman and Carter (1986) [t sto j j Co] HS Sniedovich (1981) [t sto j prob j m] D P Sotskov et al (2006) [t sto j j m] S E Sparling (1998) [j u n , pline, Dt unp j m] M , H S Sparling and Miltenburg (1998) [mix j u, Dt unp j m, SSL stat ] M , H S Sphicas and Silverman (1976) [t sto j prob j m] M Sü er (1998) [j pline, pstat j m, c, score] HS Suresh and Sahu (1994), Suresh et al (1996) [t sto j j SSL line , score] SA, GA Thomopoulos (1970) [mix j j m, SSL stat ] H S Tsujimura et al (1995) [t sto j j score] M, GA Ugurdag et al (1997) [j j c, SSL line ] M, HS, HI Urban (1998) [j u j m] M Urban and Chiang (2006a) [t sto j prob, u, Dt unp j m] M , B Urban and Chiang (2006b) [t sto j unpac async j m] HS, TS Van Hop (2006) [mix, t sto j div j m] M, HS, HI Vilarinho and Simaria (2002) [mix, link, inc j prob, pstat j m, SSL line , SSL stat ] M ,S A Vilarinho and Simaria (2006) [mix, link, inc, fix j pstat j m, SSL line , SSL stat ] M, ANT Visich et al (2002) [mix j u j SSL stat ] TS, SA Wilhelm (1999) [Dt dir , paj equip j Co] M, B, CG Wilhelm and Gadidov (2004) [mix, cum, pa j res 01 j Co] M, HS, BC Wilson (1986) [t sto , paj j Co] M Zäpfel (1975) [link, inc j j Pr] M, ENU restrictions (a 5 = link). Whether the benefits associated with avoiding an extra resource actually surmount the disadvantages of a more restricted balancing problem, can just be answered by explicitly modeling cost synergies (b 4 = res 01 ).…”

Sequence Based Optimization of Manufacturing Complexity in a Mixed Model Assembly Line

“…There is an overwhelming number of research works that cover the balancing of manual assembly lines [20]. Nearly all their methodologies consider a single-model line with various objective functions such as (i) maximization of profit [21], or minimization of (ii) the number of stations for a given cycle time [22], [23]; (iii) the cycle time for a given number of stations [24]; or (iv) expected total costs [25], [26].…”

An ECRS-based line balancing concept: a case study of a frozen chicken producer

“…In a labour-intensive production process, the task time is uncertain since it depends on the skill of each employee, the work environment, fatigue, etc. In addition, in labour-intensive manufacturing processes, the task time is varied (Shin and Min, 1991;Das et al, 2010). Then, we implemented the LB concept to balance the time taken at each station in the production line by allocating the right number of employees to each station (Tabucanon and Wang, 1993).…”