Integrated Assembly Caps

Integrated Assembly Caps describe a partition of tasks into subsets, each subset forming a station load, to optimize some line efficiency measure under specific task-to-station assignment restrictions. In the literature, the assembly line balancing problem is usually solved separately from the assembly parts feeding problem, which is to determine a supply mode for each part associated with assembly tasks. This leaves significant optimization potential untapped.

In this work, we consider the problems jointly and set up the Integrated Assembly Line Balancing and parts Feeding Problem (IALBFP). In the formulated IALBFP, we distinguish between two alternative parts supply modes: direct parts feeding in homogeneous load units (big boxes) and indirect lean parts feeding, where parts are supplied in station kits to each station at the beginning of each cycle after some intermediate handing at the supermarket area. In this way, the indirect parts feeding is fully synchronized with operations at the assembly line. We also incorporate ergonomic aspects by increasing processing times of manual tasks by a time increment to recover from fatigue and energy losses.