Station ant colony optimization for the type 2 assembly line balancing problem

An improved ant colony optimization (ACO), namely, station ant colony optimization (SACO), is proposed to solve the type 2 assembly line balancing problem (ALBP-2). In the algorithm, ACO is employed to search different better combinations of tasks (component solutions) for each station; an iteration compress mechanism is proposed to reduce the searching space of feasible solutions of ALBP-2. Three heuristic factors [i.e., (1) task time, (2) number of successors, and (3) number of releasable successors], two pheromones, and a task assignment mechanism are proposed to search better component solutions for every station. Finally, the effectiveness and stability of SACO are confirmed through comparison with literatures in 23 instances included in nine examples.

[1]  Xiaoli Zhang,et al.  An ACO-based algorithm for parameter optimization of support vector machines , 2010, Expert Syst. Appl..

[2]  Armin Scholl,et al.  SALOME: A Bidirectional Branch-and-Bound Procedure for Assembly Line Balancing , 1997, INFORMS J. Comput..

[3]  Yeo Keun Kim,et al.  A mathematical model and a genetic algorithm for two-sided assembly line balancing , 2009, Comput. Oper. Res..

[4]  Nick T. Thomopoulos,et al.  Line Balancing-Sequencing for Mixed-Model Assembly , 1967 .

[5]  Marc Gravel,et al.  Comparing an ACO algorithm with other heuristics for the single machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times , 2002, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[6]  Patrick R. McMullen,et al.  Using Ant Techniques to Solve the Assembly Line Balancing Problem , 2003 .

[7]  Armin Scholl,et al.  Simple assembly line balancing—Heuristic approaches , 1997, J. Heuristics.

[8]  Ihsan Sabuncuoglu,et al.  Ant colony optimization for the single model U-type assembly line balancing problem , 2009 .

[9]  Nils Boysen,et al.  A versatile algorithm for assembly line balancing , 2008, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[10]  Marco Dorigo,et al.  Distributed Optimization by Ant Colonies , 1992 .

[11]  Fayez F. Boctor,et al.  A Multiple-rule Heuristic for Assembly Line Balancing , 1995 .

[12]  Andreas C. Nearchou,et al.  Balancing large assembly lines by a new heuristic based on differential evolution method , 2007 .

[13]  Ozcan Kilincci.  A Petri net-based heuristic for simple assembly line balancing problem of type 2 , 2010 .

[14]  Wang Jinnuo.  Improved ant colony optimization for assembly line balancing problem , 2007 .

[15]  Gregory Levitin,et al.  Genetic algorithm for assembly line balancing , 1995 .

[16]  José Fernando Gonçalves,et al.  A Hybrid Genetic Algorithm for Assembly Line Balancing , 2002, J. Heuristics.

[17]  Wen-Chyuan Chiang,et al.  The application of a tabu search metaheuristic to the assembly line balancing problem , 1998, Ann. Oper. Res..

[18]  Huei Chuen Huang,et al.  Two bi-directional heuristics for the assembly line type II problem , 2003 .

[19]  Armin Scholl,et al.  Balancing assembly lines effectively - A computational comparison , 1999, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[20]  S. David Wu,et al.  A new heuristic method for mixed model assembly line balancing problem , 2003 .

[21]  A. A. Mastor,et al.  An Experimental Investigation and Comparative Evaluation of Production Line Balancing Techniques , 1970 .

[22]  Michael C. Ferris,et al.  Genetic Algorithms for Combinatorial Optimization: The Assemble Line Balancing Problem , 1994, INFORMS J. Comput..

[23]  Hadi Gökçen,et al.  Shortest-route formulation of mixed-model assembly line balancing problem , 1999, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[24]  J. J. Bartholdi,et al.  Balancing two-sided assembly lines: a case study , 1993 .

[25]  Soumen Ghosh,et al.  A comprehensive literature review and analysis of the design, balancing and scheduling of assembly systems , 1989 .

[26]  Armin Scholl,et al.  Maximizing the production rate in simple assembly line balancing -- A branch and bound procedure , 1996 .

[27]  Armin Scholl,et al.  State-of-the-art exact and heuristic solution procedures for simple assembly line balancing , 2006, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[28]  A. L. Arcus,et al.  COMSOAL: a computer method of sequencing operations for assembly lines , 1965 .

[29]  Ram Rachamadugu,et al.  Designing paced assembly lines with fixed number of stations , 1997 .

[30]  Armin Scholl,et al.  Balancing and Sequencing of Assembly Lines , 1995 .

[31]  George L. Nemhauser,et al.  An Algorithm for the Line Balancing Problem , 1964 .

[32]  Angel B. Ruiz,et al.  Balancing assembly lines with tabu search , 2006, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[33]  James H. Patterson,et al.  An Integer Programming Algorithm with Network Cuts for Solving the Assembly Line Balancing Problem , 1984 .

[34]  Cheng-Fa Tsai,et al.  A new and efficient ant-based heuristic method for solving the traveling salesman problem , 2003, Expert Syst. J. Knowl. Eng..

[35]  Joaquín Bautista,et al.  Ant Algorithms for Assembly Line Balancing , 2002, Ant Algorithms.

[36]  Ana S. Simaria,et al.  2-ANTBAL: An ant colony optimisation algorithm for balancing two-sided assembly lines , 2009, Comput. Ind. Eng..

[37]  Thomas Stützle,et al.  Ant Colony Optimization , 2009, EMO.