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A multi-objective assembly line balancing problem with worker’s skill and qualification considerations in fuzzy environment

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Abstract

In this study a new multi-objective assembly line balancing problem is studied. Objectives like the number of stations, the equipment purchasing cost, the worker time dependent wage, and worker dependent dis-quality level of the stations is to be minimized simultaneously with worker allocation and equipment assignment possibilities. The problem also is formulated in a fuzzy environment. To solve such problem, a new hybrid fuzzy interactive approach is proposed in two stages. In the first stage, the fuzzy formulation is converted to a crisp multi-objective formulation using a credibility-based chance constrained programming approach. Then in the second stage, the obtained crisp multi-objective formulation is solved by a new hybrid fuzzy programming approach. To evaluate the proposed approach, two generated examples and a case study from garment production industries are used for computational experiments. The extensive computational study prove the superiority of the proposed approach over the well-known approaches of the literature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Mathematics, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz, Iran

    Maryam Salehi & Hamid Reza Maleki

  2. Department of Industrial Engineering, Firouzabad Institute of Higher Education, Firouzabad, Fars, Iran

    Sadegh Niroomand

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  1. Maryam Salehi
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  2. Hamid Reza Maleki
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  3. Sadegh Niroomand
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Correspondence to Maryam Salehi.

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Salehi, M., Maleki, H.R. & Niroomand, S. A multi-objective assembly line balancing problem with worker’s skill and qualification considerations in fuzzy environment. Appl Intell 48, 2137–2156 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10489-017-1065-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10489-017-1065-2

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