| Since 1950 researchers have proposed methodologies to find an optimal allocation of tasks to workstations in an assembly line. However, most of the developed models solve the simple line balancing problem. The main outcomes of this thesis work were: (1) the development of a methodology for the design of a cost-oriented Simulated Annealing-based heuristic for line balancing with parallel stations, stochastic times and mixed products, (2) the design of a Simulated Annealing-based heuristic named ANAMAR06, and (3) the design of a user friendly Matlab-based tool for execution of ANAMAR06.; Results from ANAMAR06, with deterministic processing times, were compared to those obtained from an optimization model. The average percentage between ANAMAR06 and the mixed integer linear model was 1.63%. The same comparison was done between results from a modified Amen's and two Gaithe's heuristic model. The proposed algorithm outperformed all three. |
