An assembly decomposition model for subassembly planning considering imperfect inspection to reduce assembly defect rates

The assembly decomposition is to divide the assembly to subassemblies that are to be joined in the final assembly processes. The assembly decomposition decision strongly affects the effectiveness of a product assembly in terms of quality, sequence and supplier selection. This paper presents an assembly-decomposition model to improve product quality. Mixed-integer programming is used to partition the liaison graph of a product assembly. The mixed-integer programming model takes into account the defect rates in components and assembly tasks. The defect rate of the final assembly product is to be minimized considering type II errors in subassembly inspection. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the methodology, and this numerical study shows that assembly decomposition strongly affects the final assembly defect rate. The developed assembly decomposition method is expected to enhance the decision making in assembly planning.