An efficient heuristic for the U-line assembly line balancing problem in the just-in-time production environment

In recent years, many manufacturers have adopted a "Just-in-Time" (JIT) approach to manufacturing, finding that it improves their productivity, profits, and product quality. JIT is beneficial for companies engaged in repetitive, job shop, or process manufacturing. One of the important changes resulted from JIT implementation is the replacement of the traditional straight lines with U-lines in manufacturing production line. In this paper we discuss the U-shaped Assembly Line Balancing and address a fast and efficient heuristic for U-Line problems. The heuristic generates an initial feasible solution by using the First Fit and Priority-Based approach. We demonstrate and prove the condition of further improving the result - the basic reassignment criterion. Two methods used in improvement procedure are proposed. The near-optimal results from test problems strongly support the superiority of the heuristic.