U-shaped line balancing model with an uncertain time on all tasks

Abstract

U-shaped Assembly Line (UAL) utilizes many manufacturing industries. It applies the just-in-time principle and the quality practice. It decreases the waste in the manufacturing operation. This paper presents the UAL model which consists of eleven uncertain tasks. The uncertain tasks assume the time distribution that is discrete. The uncertain task time classifies to three types such as the optimistic time, the normal time, and the pessimistic time. The objective function of the model is the minimum number of workstations. The model formulates on a 0-1 integer linear programming. This academic work applies MATLAB R2014a which solves the solution of the model. The procedure is run by INTLINPROG toolbox. The solution of the uncertain task is the optimistic time that is the earliest finish duration. The earliest finish tasks which assign along the UAL line affect the minimum workstations.