Balancing and Sequencing of Assembly Lines (Contributions to Management Science)

It is dealt with two main decision problems which arise when flow-line production systems are installed and operated. The assembly line balancing problem consists of partitioning the work, necessary to assemble the product(s), among different stations of an assembly line. If several models of a product are jointly processed on a line, this medium-term problem is connected with the short-term problem of determining an operating sequence of the models. In Part I balancing and sequencing problems are discussed, classified, and arranged within a hierarchical planning system. In the second edition special emphasis is given to u-shaped assembly lines which are important components of modern just-in-time production systems. Part II is concerned with exact and heuristic procedures for solving those decision problems. For each problem type considered, a survey of existing procedures is given and new efficient solution methods are developed. Comprehensive numerical investigations are reported.