Mixed-model two-sided assembly line balancing

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Thesis Type: Postgraduate

Institution Of The Thesis: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Engineering, Turkey

Approval Date: 2010

Student: EMRE UÇAR

Supervisor: ÖMER KIRCA

Abstract:

In this study we focus on two-sided mixed-model assembly line balancing type-I problem. There is a production target for a fixed time horizon and the objective is to produce this amount with the minimum level of workforce. A mathematical model is developed to solve this problem in an optimal manner. For large scale problems, the mathematical model fails to give the optimal solution within reasonable computational times. Thus, a heuristic approach based on threshold accepting algorithm is presented. Both the mathematical model and the heuristic approach are executed to solve several example problems from the literature and a case study problem which is derived from the refrigerator production. Computational experiments are carried out using both approaches. It is observed that the heuristic procedure finds good solutions within very reasonable computational times.