An improved ant colony optimization algorithm for two-sided U-type assembly line balancing problems

Abstract

Aiming at the improvement of production system, a new method of two-sided U-type assembly line balance is proposed. Define the partition of a two-sided U-type assembly line and derive the formula for the task start time. The multi-objective model of two-sided U-type assembly line balance is established by minimizing a smoothing index, the number of positions and stations. Considering the dual influence of heuristic factors and pheromone information, the improved ant colony optimization algorithm is proposed. Combined with 37 examples, the improved ant colony optimization algorithm is used to solve the balancing problem of a two-sided straight line and a two-sided U-type assembly line, respectively. Compared with the results of other algorithms, it verifies that the model is reasonable and the improved ant colony optimization algorithm is effective. The balance effect of a two-sided U-type assembly line is better than that of a two-sided straight line, which means the length of the assembly line is shortened.

Keywords:

• Logistics engineering
• two-sided U-type assembly line balancing problem
• improved ant colony optimization algorithm
• collaborative optimization
• partition layout

Disclosure statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available at http://doi.org/10.1007/s10288-016-0320-4

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