Using simulation in verification of a mathematical model for predicting the performance of manual assembly line occupied with flexible workforce

Al‐Zuheri, Atiya; Luong, Lee; Xing, Ke

doi:10.1504/ijspm.2014.066369

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Ling et al (2012) considered 23 process and used EM -plant software and bottleneck analyser software to increase efficiency for deterministic problem. Al-Zuheri et al (2014) verified the MM designed for the prediction of performance of manual assembly lines occupied by a flexible workforce referred to as walking workers assembly line (WWAL), with an industrial example. Experiments carried out on this example were simulated using a software package.…”

Section: Literature Surveymentioning

confidence: 95%

Improving performance of lock assembly line using lean and simulation approach

Rane¹,

Sunnapwar

Chari

et al. 2017

IJBPM

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Assembly line optimisation is an important process. When the system is complex, mathematical modelling and design of experiments becomes difficult. Hence process simulation approach is adopted here. Contribution of this research is improvement of performance of assembly line by maximising the measurement of performances like cycle time, throughput, resource utilisation and also by reducing cost. Key features of this research are development of eight different models for different input variables without disturbing existing set up. This what-if analysis is done using Arena process simulation software. Effect of layout, resource distribution, combination of operations, time study, Maynard operation sequencing techniques (MOST) has been studied here. Combinational effect of all these parameters are difficult to analyse analytically, hence unique simulation approach is selected. MOST is useful to find value added and non-value added activities. Lean techniques like kaizen, total productive maintenance, line balancing, low cost automation are used for different scenarios.

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Section: Literature Surveymentioning

confidence: 95%

Improving performance of lock assembly line using lean and simulation approach

Rane¹,

Sunnapwar

Chari

et al. 2017

IJBPM

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“…[25] identify the levels of process parameters that entail the improvements on both productivity and ergonomics. Other studies of the same authors develop mathematical models considering the structural variables of WW for its optimization, with stochastic task times [26] and a mixed model production [27,28] illustrate the influence of workers' variability and different patterns of imbalances in output, while [29] provides a work-sharing protocol that considers discrete tasks and worker crossovers. At last, considering the impact of task time variation and models variation, [30] investigate the effects of sources of randomness on model validation as an abstraction for the real system, while [31] addresses the balancing problem for multi-model WW assembly systems.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Walking worker vs fixed worker assembly considering the impact of components exposure on assembly time and energy expenditure

Calzavara

Faccio

Persona

et al. 2021

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

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Recently, the need for assembly systems of better following the market demand has led to the spread of alternative solutions with respect to the traditional fixed worker strategy. Walking worker systems, where operators move across the line to produce the finished product, are gaining always more interest. In this paper, a comparison between the fixed worker (FW) and the walking worker (WW) assembly strategies is provided, by taking into account their differences both in terms of performed activities during assembly and of material exposure at the assembly workstations. The evaluation is carried out through the proposal of a mathematical model, to understand the impact on assembly time and on operators’ energy expenditure. The behavior of the model is investigated both with a parametric analysis and a real case study. The results show that the FW is the best one when the system is working at its maximum throughput, while the WW strategy turns out to be preferable for the lower values of market demand, both from a time and an energy expenditure perspective.

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“…Walking workers are not fixed to a given workplace and may follow the processed product until its last task. Upon completion, they return upstream to start processing a new product unit (Al-Zuheri et al, 2014). Several studies (Bischak, 1996;Deepak et al, 2017) showed that moving workers, whose dynamic reassignment allows increasing the workforce resource where and when needed, improve the performance of production lines and provide larger throughputs, larger resource utilization, and less work in process.…”

Section: Walking Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workforce reconfiguration strategies in manufacturing systems: a state of the art

Hashemi-Petroodi

Dolgui

Kovalev

et al. 2020

International Journal of Production Research

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This paper provides a literature review and an analysis of the studies related to workforce reconfiguration strategies as a part of workforce planning for various production environments.The survey demonstrates that these strategies play a crucial role in the resilience and flexibility of manufacturing systems since they help industrial companies to quickly adapt to frequent changes in demand both in terms of volume and product mix. Five strategies are considered: the use of utility, temporary, walking, cross-trained workers, and bucket brigades. They are analyzed in the context of mixed and multi-model manual assembly lines, dedicated, cellular, flexible, and reconfigurable manufacturing systems. The review shows that most of the researches on these reconfiguration strategies focus on multi-or mixed-model assembly lines. At the same time, few studies consider workers team reconfiguration in flexible and reconfigurable manufacturing systems. Finally, this paper reveals several promising research directions in workforce reconfiguration planning, namely, the use of both machine and workforce reconfigurations, consideration of the ergonomic aspects, the combination of multiple workforce reconfiguration strategies, the study of workforce reconfiguration in human-robot collaborative systems, and the use of new technologies in human-machine industrial environments.

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Using simulation in verification of a mathematical model for predicting the performance of manual assembly line occupied with flexible workforce

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Improving performance of lock assembly line using lean and simulation approach

Improving performance of lock assembly line using lean and simulation approach

Walking worker vs fixed worker assembly considering the impact of components exposure on assembly time and energy expenditure

Workforce reconfiguration strategies in manufacturing systems: a state of the art

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