Assembly line balancing problem with task learning and dynamic task reassignment

This paper addresses an existing but unsolved problem: dynamic task reassignment under changing task performance times. This situation is relevant to automated flexible assembly systems with collaborative learning. The length of the line can be reduced during the period of production by dynamically rebalancing the assembly line because of the changing task times. A task reassignment procedure is designed to balance such an assembly line where task times are being reduced during small lot size production. Backward induction rules, which can be combined with prevalent algorithms, are proposed to form such a procedure. A case study is provided to show that the procedure significantly increases the efficiency of the assembly line in terms of the length of the production line and system idle times.

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