Assembly line balancing

Abstract

Consulta en la Biblioteca ETSI Industriales (8346)

[EN] The objective of this master thesis is the modeling and solving of a problem of assembly line balancing as efficiently as possible. The project addresses a study of a manufacturing line of T-shirts for men, consisting of forty-three activities, with precedence relationships among the tasks. The study is to assign each of these tasks on workstations for maximum efficiency in the manufacture of T-shirts and with the objective of minimizing the number of workstations on the line. To solve this problem, it will be modeled by mathematical programming and using the program LINGO. LINGO is a software tool designed to efficiently build and solve linear, nonlinear, and integer optimization models. In the industrial environment, the application of the classic techniques of assembly lines is inefficient due to the complexity that adds to the problem when considering new constraints as, operation time variables depending on the person to develop the tasks, the existence of limited skills, absenteeism, need of rotation of workstation to avoid monotony, etc. Thus, the industrial reality involves, delimiting the problem with a set series of basics suppositions, previously contextualizing it within the wide range of assembly line balancing problems. From these hypotheses, the problem is classified as a Simple Assembly Line Balancing Problem (SALBP). Therefore, the core objectives of this work are to define, to formalize and to solve this assembly line balancing problem in small and big problems. In order to accomplish the main objectives, the following specific objectives are considered. 1) State of the Art of assembly systems: basic concepts, definitions. 2) Definition, characterization and classification of assembly line balancing problem. 3) Procedures to solve assembly line balancing problems 4) Mathematical Formulation of the SALBP. This problem is defined and characterized, giving a numerical example to illustrate its relevance. 5) Assembly line balancing problem in clothing industry. An example of a big problem with its model and the results. 6) Conclusions of this master thesis.