Optimal allocation of heterogeneous workers in a U-shaped production line

In this paper, we deal with a U-shaped production line with multiple heterogeneous multi-function workers. Skills of workers are assumed to be different. We consider an optimization problem for finding an allocation of workers to the line that minimizes the overall cycle time under the minimum number of workers satisfying the demand. All of processing, operation and walking times are deterministic. We propose an algorithm for computing an optimal allocation of workers to machines. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.