Balancing mixed-model assembly lines:A computational evaluationof objectives to smoothen workload

Mixed-model assembly lines are widely used in a range of production settings,such as the nal assembly of the automotive and electronics industries,where they are applied to mass-produce standardized commodities. One ofthe greatest challenges when installing and reconguring these lines is thevast product variety modern mixed-model assembly lines have to cope with.Traditionally, product variety is bypassed during mid-term assembly line balancingby applying a joint precedence graph, which represents an (articial)average model and serves as the input data for a single model assembly linebalancing procedure. However, this procedure might lead to considerablevariations in the station times, so that serious sequencing problems emergeand work overload threatens. To avoid these diculties different extensionsof assembly line balancing for workload smoothing, i.e., horizontal balancing,have been introduced in the literature....