A Heuristic Method for Analysis of Assembly Line Based on Simulation and DOE

A heuristic method based on simulation and design of experiments for performance improvement of assembly line is presented in this paper. In the proposed method, all effective factors on the performance of an assembly line are specified using the expert's point of view and then a 2k factorial design is used for the selection of the most effective factors. Also a factorial design is applied for assessment of interaction among important factors and comparison of different levels. A simulation method is employed for evaluating the performance of proposed alternatives instead of using real case. A straightforward assembly line analysis is presented and exemplified in this work by extracting and analyzing effective factors of an auto light company. Number of workstations, operators and speed of machines are chosen as the main factors. Next to the identification of different levels using factorial design, the method showed significant improvement on the assembly line of auto light company.