Solving Assembly Production Line Balancing Problem Using Greedy Heuristic Method

Abstract

Abstract This paper focuses on assembly line balancing (ALB) problem which the objective is to maximize the assembly line efficiency. The problem solved using a greedy heuristic method. MATLAB Software is used to perform the proposed greedy heuristic method. Then, the proposed method is applied to a previous real life case problem that is found in literature for the cookers assembly line in the Light Industrial Company in Iraq. The results of the proposed method is compared with the performance of the company without applying any assembly line balancing method. The result of this paper is also compared with the results obtained from a previous work in the literature which is based on Shortest Operation Time (SOT) using the software named Quantitative Methods, Production and Operations Management (POM-QM). The outcomes of the research have shown that the greedy heuristic method is more efficient, where the efficiency increased from 78.24% before applying assembly line balancing and 81.64% for the previous work based on SOT method to 85.53% when applying the greedy heuristic method. The research has recommended that the decision maker in the company should follow the most appropriate method to achieve a high efficiency operations.