Assembly Line Design: The Balancing of Mixed-Model Hybrid Assembly Lines with Genetic Algorithms (Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing)

Efficient assembly line design is a problem of considerable industrial importance. Unfortunately, like many other design processes, it can be time-consuming and repetitive. In addition to this, assembly line design is often complex owing to the number of multiple components involved: line efficiency, cost, reliability and space for example. The main objective is to integrate the design with operations issues, thereby minimising its costs. Since it is impossible to replace a designer’s intelligence, experience and creativity, it is important to provide him with a set of assistance tools in order to meet the conflicting objectives involved. __Assembly Line Design__ presents three techniques based on the Grouping Genetic Algorithm (a powerful and broadly applicable optimisation and stochastic search technique) which can be used to aid efficient assembly line design: • ‘equal piles for assembly lines’, a new algorithm introduced to deal with assembly line balancing (balancing stations’ loads); • a new method based on a multiple objective grouping genetic algorithm (MO-GGA) aiming to deal with resource planning (selection of equipment to carry out assembly tasks); ‘• balance for operation’ (BFO), introduced to deal with the changes during the operation phase of assembly lines. __Assembly Line Design__ will be of interest to technical personnel working in design, planning and production departments in industry as well as managers in industry who want to learn more about concurrent engineering. This book will also be of value to researchers and postgraduate students in mechanical, manufacturing or micro-engineering. The **Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing** publishes the best teaching and reference material to support students, educators and practitioners in manufacturing technology and management. This international series includes advanced textbooks, research monographs, edited works and conference proceedings covering all subjects in advanced manufacturing. The series focuses on new topics of interest, new treatments of more traditional areas and coverage of the applications of information and communication technology (ICT) in manufacturing. Efficient assembly line design is a problem of considerable industrial importance. Unfortunately, like many other design processes, it can be time-consuming and repetitive. In addition to this, assembly line design is often complex owing to the number of multiple components involved: line efficiency, cost, reliability and space for example. The main objective is to integrate the design with operations issues, thereby minimising its costs. Since it is impossible to replace a designerвЂTMs intelligence, experience and creativity, it is important to provide him with a set of assistance tools in order to meet the conflicting objectives involved. Assembly Line Design presents three techniques based on the Grouping Genetic Algorithm (a powerful and broadly applicable optimisation and stochastic search technique) which can be used to aid efficient assembly line design: • ‘equal piles for assembly linesвЂTM, a new algorithm introduced to deal with assembly line balancing (balancing stationsвЂTM loads); • a new method based on a multiple objective grouping genetic algorithm (MO-GGA) aiming to deal with resource planning (selection of equipment to carry out assembly tasks); ‘• balance for operationвЂTM (BFO), introduced to deal with the changes during the operation phase of assembly lines. Assembly Line Design will be of interest to technical personnel working in design, planning and production departments in industry as well as managers in industry who want to learn more about concurrent engineering. This book will also be of value to researchers and postgraduate students in mechanical, manufacturing or micro-engineering. Efficient assembly line design is a problem of industrial importance. Assembly line design is often complex due to the multiple components involved: efficiency, cost and space. The aim is to integrate the design with operations issues, minimising costs. It is important to give the designer tools to help him meet the different objectives. 3 techniques based on the Grouping Genetic Algorithm are presented which can be used to aid assembly line design: - ‘equal piles for assembly lines'deals with assembly line balancing (balancing stations'loads); - a method based on a multiple objective grouping genetic algorithm (MO-GGA) deals with resource planning (selection of equipment); - ‘balance for operation', deals with the changes during the operation of assembly lines. This book will interest technical personnel in design, planning and production departments in industry as well as managers in industry. It will also be of use to researchers and postgraduates in mechanical, manufacturing or micro-engineering. Preliminaries......Page 2 Preface......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Contents......Page 11 1 Designing Assembly Lines......Page 19 2 Design Approaches......Page 23 3 Assembly Line History and Formulation......Page 29 4 Evolutionary Combinatorial Optimisation......Page 47 5 Multiple Objective Grouping Genetic Algorithm......Page 55 6 Equal Piles for Assembly Line Balancing......Page 75 7 The Resource Planning for Assembly Line......Page 93 8 Balance for Operation......Page 109 9 Evolving to Integrate Logical and Physical Layout of Assembly Lines......Page 121 10 Concurrent Approach to Design Assembly Lines......Page 137 11 A Real-world Example Optimised by the OptiLine Software......Page 153 12 Conclusions and Future Work......Page 161 References......Page 165 Index......Page 175 Efficient assembly line design is a problem of considerable industrial importance. Assembly Line Design will be bought by technical personnel working in design, planning and production departments in industry as well as managers in industry who want to learn more about concurrent engineering. This book will also be purchased by researchers and postgraduate students in mechanical, manufacturing or micro-engineering.