A GRASP Heuristic for Sequence-Dependent Transfer Line Balancing Problem
Résumé
This paper deals with an industrial transfer line balancing problem (TLBP) involving specific constraints. The studied lines are paced and serial, i.e. a part to be machined passes through a sequence of stations. At least one CNC (Computer Numerical Controller) machine is installed at each station. As usual with transfer lines, this problem is subject to precedence constraints as well as exclusion and inclusion constraints. Moreover, the station workload depends on the sequence in which the operations are assigned to the station because of set-up times related to the change and displacement of tools, rotation of the part, etc. In addition, accessibility constraints have to be considered, and different types of CNC machines with different characteristics can be used depending on the operations to perform. The objective is to assign a given set of operations, required for part machining, as well as a set of machines to a sequence of stations while minimizing the total cost of the line.We propose here a heuristic based on the GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedures) metaheuristic to consider large size industrial cases.