Mixed-model assembly line sequencing using beam search

Abstract

In today's manufacturing environments, companies have to produce a large variety of products in small quantities on a single assembly line. In this paper, we use a beam search (BS) approach to solve the model-sequencing problem of mixed-model assembly lines (MMALs). Specifically, we develop six BS algorithms for part-usage variation and load-leveling performance measures. The results of computational experiments indicate that the proposed BS methods are competitive with the well-known heuristics in the literature. A comprehensive bibliography is also provided.