Solution of the assembly line balancing problem using the rank positional weight method and Kilbridge and Wester heuristics method: An application in the cable industry

Abstract

Today, assembly lines are frequently used in factories' production areas because they increase production processes' efficiency. Due to increased customer demands, increasing production amounts and intense competition cause severe fluctuations in production environments. This is also evident in assembly lines. Balancing problems caused by many reasons in assembly lines has become a big problem for companies. In this study, the balancing problem in the assembly line in an automotive supplier industry company that produces cables has been tried to be solved. In the solution of the problem, the Rank positional weight method, which is among the heuristics frequently used in the literature, and the Kilbridge and Wester heuristics were used. Considering the current situation, the cycle time from 170 s has been reduced to 142.25 s, and the line efficiency has been increased from 82.36% to 98.42%. There was no increase or decrease in the number of stations on the line and the number of operators working there. As a result of all these efforts, the workload was distributed equally among the stations, severely reducing waiting time. In this way, the downtimes in production were reduced, the overtime hours required to reach the required daily production amount were eliminated, and labor costs were reduced.