• IE interfaces
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.132-142
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• 1999

Two-sided (left- and right-sided) assembly lines in practice can provide several advantages over one-sided lines in terms of the required line length, throughput time, cost of tools and fixtures, and so on. This paper considers two-sided assembly line balancing with the objective of minimizing line length. The balancing problem is more complicated than that of one-sided lines due to sequence-dependency of tasks assigned to a pair of directly facing workstations. This paper shows how genetic algorithm can be used to solve two-sided assembly line balancing. For this, an encoding and a decoding method suitable to the problem are presented. Proper genetic operators and an evalutation function are also employed. Extensive computational experiments are carried out to show the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. The results show that the algorithm is viable and promising in solution quality and computation time.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.36-46
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• 2005

In traditional production lines, such as assembly lines, each worker is usually assigned to a fixed task, which is beneficial since it reduces the amount of training needed for workers to master their assigned tasks. However, when workers complete their tasks at different speeds, the slowest worker will determine the overall pace of the production line and limit production. To avoid this problem, the self-balancing production line was introduced. In this type of production line, each worker works dynamically, thus they can maintain balanced production. Previous research analyzing the performance of these lines has ignored the walk-back time associated with dynamic workers. U-shaped production lines have also been analyzed and policies for such lines have been proposed. However, the walk-back time cannot be ignored in practice, and research taking this factor into account is needed to enable balanced production and thus the maximum production rate. In this paper, we propose production policies for a production line with the walk-back time taken into account, and define and analyze the conditions for self-balancing. Furthermore, we have compared the performance of such a line with that of other production lines under the same conditions, and the results show the superiority of this line in certain cases.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2005

A flexible assembly line (FAL) is a production system that assembles various parts in unidirectional flow line with many constraints and manufacturing flexibilities. In this research we deal with a FAL balancing problem with the objective of minimizing the maximum workload allocated to the stations. However, almost all the existing researches do not appropriately consider various constraints due to the problem complexity. Therefore, this study addresses a balancing problem of FAL with many constraints and manufacturing flexibilities, unlike the previous researches. We use a genetic algorithm (GA) to solve this problem. To apply GA to FAL. we suggest a genetic representation suitable for FAL balancing and devise evaluation method for individual's fitness and genetic operators specific to the problem, including efficient repair method for preserving solution feasibility. After we obtain a solution using the proposed GA. we use a heuristic method for reassigning some tasks of each product to one or more stations. This method can improve workload smoothness and raise work efficiency of each station. The proposed algorithm is compared and analyzed in terms of solution quality through computational experiments.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.94-102
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• 2007

In this paper, we consider a line balancing problem in hybrid flowshops where each workstation has identical parallel machines. The number of machines in each workstation is determined in ways of satisfying pre-specified throughput rate of the system. To minimize the total number of machines in the systems, we propose five heuristic methods and one simulated annealing method. Extensive computational experiments found the superiorities of two heuristic methods and the meta-heuristic.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.69-80
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• 2002

This study deals with the productivity improvement on a flow production system with the consideration of line-balancing. In a flow production system, similar product models are produced on a same assembly line, the predefined process order and the limitation of total worker number. The system can be increased the work-in -process(WIP) inventory and the worker's idle time. In this study, the worker assignment model is developed to assign evenly workload of process to each product model in such a manner that each process has the different number of worker. This worker assignment model is the mathematical model that determines worker number in each process such that the idle time of processes is reduced and the utilization of worker is improved. We use a simulation technique to simulate the production line proposed by the mathematical model and apply real production line. With the result of simulation, this study analyzes the propriety of production line and proposes the alternatives of new production line

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1993.10b
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• pp.391-394
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• 1993

A new approach using a Hopfield type neural network to solve line balancing problems for manufacturing planning is proposed. The energy function of the network to evaluate solutions is composed of three terms;(a) an operation should be processed at one and only one workstation, (b) the precedence-relationship between two operations shoud be satisfied, and (c) the cycle-time of operations should be minimized. It is shown that the network can solve the line balancing problems but not always because of the difficulty to keep the precedence-relationship. Therefore, a method to keep the precedence-relationship by software logic is proposed and it is verified that the line-balancing prblems can be solved with high probability.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.51-65
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• 2000

Multiple U-typed producton lines are increasingly accepted in modern marufacturing system for the flexbility to adjust to changes in demand. This paper considers multiple U line balancing with the objective of minimizing cycle time considering the moving time of workforce given the number of workstation. Like the traditional line balancing problem this problem is NP-hard. In this paper, we show how genetic algorithm can be used to solve multiple U line balancing problem. For this, an encoding and a decoding method suitable to the problem are presented. Proper genetic operators are also employed. Extensive computational experiments are carried out to show the performance of the performance of the purposed algorithm. The computational results show that the algorithm is promising in solution quality.

• Proceedings of the Safety Management and Science Conference
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• 1999.11a
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• pp.501-514
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• 1999

Multiple U-typed production lines are increasingly accepted in modern manufacturing system for the flexibility to adjust to changes in demand. This paper considers multiple U line balancing with the objective of minimizing cycle time considering of moving time of workforce given the number of workstation. Like the traditional line balancing problem this problem is NP-hard. In this paper, we show how genetic algorithm can be used to solve multiple U line balancing. For this, an encoding and a decoding method suitable to the problem are presented. Proper genetic operators are also employed. Extensive computational experiments are carried out to show the performance of the proposed algorithm. The computational results show that the algorithm is promising in solution quality.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.129-138
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• 2001

The paper presents an implementation procedure of assembly line for ABS motor, which is composed of four subassemblies-yoke, grommet, housing and armature. The characteristics of ABS motor and its assembly processes are analysed, and the automation possibility of each process is examined in order to decrease assembly time. The assembly machines and facilities are then selected for automatic assembly, and the layout of the selected facilities is determined. Finally, task allocation of each worker is achieved by assembly line balancing to increase assembly productivity and efficiency. The line efficiency is also analyzed using simulation.

• The Journal of Information Technology and Database
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.83-97
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• 2000

Internet-based retail business spreads rapidly in Korea. Companies are trying to develop and use various strategic capabilities. The strategies employed by those companies include activities related to the design of shopping sites, market positionsing, facilitation of purchasing process, payment mechanism, and the provision of various consumer services. However, the success of these strategies depends on various environmental factors and internal capability of the companies. Especially, balancing activities performed on-line with those performed off-line is suggested to be essential. In this study, we examined three successful Internet shopping mall companies and compared them to draw useful guidelines for balancing shopping mall strategies - on - line vs. off - line. These three companies were selected because they are all considered sucessful by now, but brought different backgrounds.