Title: Genetic search and the U-line balancing problem

Authors: Chun-Hung Cheng; Angappa Gunasekaran; Kin-Chuen Ho

Addresses: Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Rm 607, William M.W. Mong Engineering Building, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong ' Department of Decision and Information Sciences, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA ' VTC School of Business and Information Systems, 20A Tsing Yi Road, Tsing Yi Island, NT, Hong Kong

Abstract: In this research, we consider an application of genetic search to the U-line balancing problem. Although the literature has proposed genetic search to solve the balancing problem in both straight- and U-lines, it only examines the use of very few crossover and mutation operators. We attempt to conduct a comprehensive study of the effectiveness and efficiency of many crossover and mutation operators for the problem in this work. An extensive computational experiment is used to assess these operators. This assessment provides valuable insights into the design of the U-shaped production lines.

Keywords: line balancing; U-lines; genetic search; operators; U-shaped production lines.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2013.054805

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 2013 Vol.14 No.4, pp.414 - 440

Published online: 27 Dec 2013 *

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