Multi criteria assembly line design and configuration - An automotive case study

The aim of this paper is to deal with a method that enables the user to design and configure a production line against multiple-user defined criteria. Machine utilization, investment cost, resource energy consumption, availability and annual production volume are some of the criteria used in the design. The production line design/configuration is a very hard and complex problem to be solved. The proposed method tackles this decision making problem, by formulating it as a search problem and applying intelligent search algorithms for the identification of high quality solutions. The method's real life applicability has been ensured by the examination of the problems and the requirements that arise during the actual design process, as it is carried out by modern assembly line builders. The method is tested and evaluated on a case study, inspired by a real automotive assembly line.