Dynamic workforce allocation in a constrained flow shop with multi-agent system

The present work addresses the problem of real time workforce scheduling in assembly lines where the number of operators is less to the number of workstations. The problem is faced developing a two-steps procedure made of (i) a centralized scheduling based on a constraint optimization problem (COP) for initial operator scheduling, and (ii) a decentralized algorithm performed by a multiagent system (MAS) to manage workers in case of unforeseen events. In the proposed MAS architecture, Agents represent the operators trying to find local assignments for themselves. The system is validated with a simulation model and implemented with a hardware infrastructure in a real assembly line of electromechanical components. The main original contribution of the paper consists in proving - by means of both validation through a simulation model and test in a real assembly line of electromechanical components - that (1) multi-agent systems could be successfully adopted to solve a workforce scheduling problem, and (2) a combined approach consisting of centralized + distributed approach would provide better results compared with the application of one of the two approaches alone. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.