Balancing and sequencing of stochastic mixed-model assembly U-lines to minimise the expectation of work overload time
研究了随机混合模型装配U型线的平衡与排序问题，提出0-1随机规划模型以最小化预期工作超时时间，并开发了模拟退火算法，实验表明该算法在解质量和运行时间上优于现有算法。
A mixed-model assembly U-line is a flexible production system capable of manufacturing a variety of similar models, and it has become popular as an important component of the just-in-time production system. However, it poses new challenges for the optimal design of assembly lines because both the task assignment and the production sequence affect the workload variance among workstations. As a consequence, this paper addresses the line balancing problem and the model sequencing problem jointly and proposes a 0–1 stochastic programming model. In this model, task times are assumed to be stochastic variables independently distributed with normal distributions and the objective is to minimise the expectation of work overload time for a given combination of cycle time and number of workstations. To solve the problem, a simulated annealing-based algorithm is developed, which can also be used to minimise the absolute deviation of workloads in a deterministic environment. The experimental results for a set of benchmark problems show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of solution quality and running time.