Title: Absenteeism and turnover performance analysis of multi-model and mixed-model assembly lines

Authors: Yuval Cohen; Maurizio Faccio; Mauro Gamberi

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Afeka Tel-Aviv Academic College of Engineering, 38 Mivtsa-Kadesh Street, Tel-Aviv 69988, Israel ' Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, Stradella San Nicola, 336100 Vicenza, Italy ' Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy

Abstract: Assembly lines are characterised by high rates of turnover and absenteeism. Any case of absenteeism or turnover requires assigning a replacement worker who is often inexperienced. Learning process is crucial for increasing productivity in such replacement cases, but learning is dependent on the variety of product models produced on that line. The complexity effect of the tasks at the assembly station, owing to a multi-model pattern, can result in a forgetting curve. The current research investigates the absenteeism in various batch sizes of multi-model and mixed-model assembly lines, introducing an innovative adaptation of the learning and forgetting functions. Secondly, it analyses the assembly system performance through a simulation study, focusing on the models' commonality and models sequences in the case of new substitute workers. A case study and a simulation analysis are reported to validate the research.

Keywords: absenteeism; turnover; learning; forgetting; multi-model; mixed-model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2022.126040

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 2022 Vol.42 No.2, pp.147 - 171

Received: 16 Apr 2020
Accepted: 10 Jan 2021
Published online: 10 Oct 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article