Title
Including rest allowance in mixed-model assembly lines
Abstract
Ergonomics has a significant impact on productivity and human safety in manual assembly lines. For this reason, several studies in recent years have proposed including ergonomics in assembly lines. However, most works are focused on simple assembly lines, while only a few studies exist for mixed-model assembly lines (MMALs). Thus, in this paper, we propose a new methodological approach to include physical fatigue and rest allowance (RA) as ergonomic parameters in MMAL problems. For the balancing problem, we propose a linear mathematical model that minimises the cycle time by including RA. For the sequencing decision, we develop a heuristic approach that assigns workers to workstations according to the workers' age and their related maximum physical capacity. Then, we propose a linear sequencing model that minimises the work-overload by also evaluating RA to assign each worker according to her or his features. Finally, to complete the study, we test the mathematical models in a real case application and provide a detailed discussion of the results to highlight the benefits we can achieve with this approach.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.1080/00207543.2020.1843731
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Mixed-model assembly line, human factor, recovery time, ageing, mathematical model, case study
Journal
59
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
24
0020-7543
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Serena Finco101.01
Martina Calzavara2327.01
Fabio Sgarbossa39213.03
Ilenia Zennaro400.34