The Multiproduct Parallel AssemblyLines Balancing Problem:Model and Optimization Procedure

A production system which consists of a number of parallel assembly lines is considered. Oneach line a certain product is manufactured observing a common cycle time. By arranging thelines in a favourable manner, it is possible to increase efficiency of the production system bycombining stations of neighbouring lines when balancing them. The objective is to minimizethe number of operators required. This problem is called Multiproduct Parallel Assembly LinesBalancing Problem (MPALBP) and has previously been considered by Gökçen, Agpak, andBenzer (Internat. J. Product. Economics 103, 600-609). In the paper on hand, we give a detailedproblem description and model the problem as a binary linear program. Furthermore, an exactsolution approach based on an extension of the well-known branch and bound procedureSALOME is proposed. Computational experiments show that this procedure clearly outperformsother approaches as it is able to solve small- to medium-sized problem instances to optimalityand provides good heuristic solutions for large-sized problems....