Dynamic job rotation for workload balancing in human based assembly systems

Abstract

The job rotation enables production systems to cope with the fluctuating market demand by exploiting the benefits of flexible workforce. It provides employees with a more engaging working environment, resulting in far less monotonous and repetitive tasks. A dynamic job rotation tool is discussed that allows for the efficient allocation of assembly tasks to suitable operators, at any point of time, leading to more balanced workload distribution and thus, achieving 'dynamic line balancing'. A hierarchical approach to multiple criteria and decision making algorithms is used for the implementation of the tool. The tool generates alternative rotation schedules and evaluates them against predefined criteria. © 2010 CIRP.