Hybrid assembly line design

This paper presents a method to address the multiple objective hybrid assembly line balancing problem. The aim is to assign a set of tasks to stations and select equipment to perform each of them. The goal is to minimize the total cost of the line by integrating design (station space, equipment cost, etc.) and operation issues (cycle time, precedence constraints and availability, etc.). We use a grouping genetic algorithm to tackle the problem, hybridized with an branch and cut algorithm and a multicriteria decision-aid method called PROMETHEE-II. The essential concepts adopted by the method are described. The results of the algorithm are illustrated by a case study