• IE interfaces
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.34-42
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• 2006

This paper presents a scheme for a hierarchical production scheduling and control system for a refrigerator factory with mixed model assembly lines. The setting of the factory is as follows. There are three mixed-model assembly lines called main line A, B and C and two batch lines that supply parts to the main lines. For each of the main lines, three work-centers are dedicated to them. The sub-lines and work-centers produce parts in batch type. An incoming production order from the master planner is characterized by its product type, amount, and due date. Under this situation, the proposed scheme has several features to schedule and control the above mentioned factory; 1) select the starting time and the place (assembly line) for an order processing, 2) devise a way to control orders to be processed as scheduled, and 3) reschedule orders when something unexpected happen. Finally, this paper provides a case study where the proposed scheme is applied to.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.31-37
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• 2011

Construction automation is yet to be improved since construction site still faces a lot of high risks and difficulties. This research focuses on applying robotic beam assembly system in place of construction workers. This system consists of CF (Construction Factory) structure to provide adequate working environment to robot automation. The CF structure not only gives automation environment for a robot but also houses the equipments to protect from outside effects. The robotic beam assembly system also consists of robotic bolting system and robot transport mechanism. It utilizes various tools to insert and join the bolts and nuts. Visual servoing helps precise robot motion by sensing bolt hole and tail of the bolt. ITA system helps non skilled workers to easily perform the assembly work with the robot system. The robot transport mechanism includes sliding rail and cross-wired lift. It carries the robot to a desired position for assembly work.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.24 no.69
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• pp.51-64
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• 2001

A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of working posture. work/rest ration, and task type on the physical workload in automobile assembly jobs. Ten healthy male university students participated as subjects in the experiment. East subject performed 18 experimental session with combination of 3 working posture 3 work/rest ratio and 2 task types. To examine the effect of various working conditions on workload, DMG analysis was performed on 4 different muscles in the neck an arm area, Also RPE scale and heart rate were taken as response variables. The result showed that all working conditions considered in the experiment had significant effects on the workload concluding that labor intensity in auto assembly jobs should be adjusted with respect to different levels of working posture, work/rest ratio, and task type. Detailed analysis are presented in the paper.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.378-385
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• 2017

Background: The present rapid shift of industrialization from developed to developing countries requires developing countries to understand issues related to work organization, management, and working conditions. There are many factors slackening production, of which working conditions is part. A complete inquiry into the workers' working conditions can enable managements to reduce risks in the workplaces and improve productivity. Understanding and awareness of the benefits of workplace research and a probe into the working conditions in the Ugandan apparel assembly plants are urgently required. Methods: A total of 103 (70 women and 33 men) workers from five different plants were interviewed. Together with the top management of various plants, questionnaires about the workers' opinions of their physical working conditions were prepared. Data was collected using two methods: (1) questionnaire; and (2) observation of the workers during their work. Results: The results indicated that poor plant working conditions were mainly contributed by the workers' social factors and the management policies. Conclusion: The government, together with the management, should work to improve the working conditions in the apparel assembly plants, as it greatly affects both.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.72-84
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• 1998

This paper studies the relationship between assemblability and assembly time. After analyzing characteristic factors of bolts and parts, seven different kinds of assemblability parameters were determined according to assembly process, and assemblability was also evaluated. MTM (Method-Time Measurement) and Work factor methods were used for an estimation of assembly time. It shows the relationship can be found on the basis of characteristic factors of parts and bolts by relational graphs and numerical formulas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.108-114
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• 2000

The work posture impose additional stress upon human workers so that it should be carefully considered in designing works. However, we have a lot of manufacturing plants which convert their standing workplace to sedentary one. To confirm the validity of that trend, the authors conducted an experimental study, and compared the results. The results of the EMG and the self-cognitive symptoms, in general, showed a correspondent trend that the sedentary work posture was rated more comfortable. At the beginning of the work, complaint of the lowerback was higher whereas that of the lower leg and the feet went higher as the time elapsed. If the weight of workpiece were heavier than 500g, increasing rate of bodily discomfort in the sedentary posture were greater than that of the standing posture. In the meanwhile, the standing posture was consistently superior to the sedentary posture in its performance. Thus, in conclusion, for a light assembly work, sedentary work posture would be recommendable because bodily discomfort would be larger irrespective of the small increase of performance increase.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.57-63
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• 2005

Ergonomic intervention techniques were adopted to assess and control potential risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders(WMSDs) in the automated light assembly manufacturing system. Ten different kinds of assembly workstations implemented with a conveyor system and twelve female workers were observed and evaluated with careful video film analysis. Several close examinations using sets of checklists established by qualified safety and health organizations, such as NIOSH, OSHA, and ANSI, were conducted and every workers and staffs in the site participated in the self-report questionnaires and off-line interviews. Typical risk factors and symptoms of the upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders were found and categorized into specific parts of body. To reduce risk factors of WMSDs and improve system productivity new revised workstation standards, physical dimensions, were suggested accordant with anthropometric characteristics of workers and a heuristic decision strategy of rotating shift work schedules according to work contents has proposed to mitigate cumulative physical stress. Finally, ergonomic programs of entire company to prevent WMSDs were structured.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.25-48
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• 1996

Mixed Model Assembly Lines (MMALs) are increasingly used to produce differentiated products on a single assembly line without work-in-process storage, Usually, a typical MMAL consists of a number of (1) stations doing exactly the same operation on every job, (2) stations involving operations with different choices, and (3) stations offering operations that are not performed on every job, or that are performed on every job but with many options. For stations of the first type there is no sequencing problem at all. However, for the second type a set-up cost is incurred each time the operation switches from one choice to another. At the third type of stations, different models, requring different amounts and choices of assembly work, creates an uneven flow of work along the line and variations in the work load at these stations. When a subsequence of jobs requires more work load than the station can handle, it is necessary to help the operations at the station or to complete the work elsewhere. Therefore, a schedule which minimize the sum of set-up cost and utility work cost is desired. So this study has developed Fixed Random Ordering Rule (FROR), Fixed Ascending Ordering Rule (FAOR), Fixed Descending Ordering Rule, and Extended NHR (ENHR). ENHR is to choose optimal color ordering of each batch with NHR, and to decide job sequence of the batch with it, too. As the result of experiments, ENHR was the best heuristic algorithm. NHR is a new heuristic rule in which only the minimum addition of violations from both partial sequence and unassigned sequence at every branch could be considered. And this is a heuristic sequencing rule for the third type of stations at MMAL. This study developed one more heuristic algorithm to test the performance of NHR, which is named as Practical Heuristic Rule (PHR).

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 2011

In seeking further efficiency in production preparation, it is common to examine assembly sequences using digital manufacturing. The assembly sequences affect the product evaluation, so it is necessary to test several assembly sequences before actual production. However, because selection and testing of assembly sequences depends on the operator's personal experience and intuition, only a small number of assembly sequences are actually tested. Nevertheless, there is a systematic method for generating assembly sequences using a contact-related figure. However, the larger the number of parts, the larger the number of assembly sequences geometric becomes. The purpose of this study is to establish a systematic method of generating efficient assembly sequences regardless of the number of parts. To generate such assembly sequences selectively, a "Tournament Tree," which shows the structure of an assembly sequence, is formulated. Applying the method to assembly sequences of a water valve, good assembly sequences with the same structure as the Tournament Tree are identified. The structure of such a Tournament Tree tends to have fewer steps than the others. As a test, the structure is then applied for a drum cartridge with 38 parts. In all the assembly sequences generated from the contact-related figures, the best assembly sequence is generated by using the Tournament Tree.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.69-82
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• 2003

The sequence which minimizes overall utility work in car assembly lines reduces the cycle time, the number of utility workers, and the risk of conveyor stopping. This study suggests mathematical formulation of the sequencing problem to minimize overall utility work, and present a genetic algorithm which can provide a near optimal solution in real time. To apply a genetic algorithm to the sequencing problem in car assembly lines, the representation, selection methods, and genetic parameters are studied. Experiments are carried out to compare selection methods such as roullette wheel selection, tournament selection and ranking selection. Experimental results show that ranking selection method outperforms the others in solution quality, whereas tournament selection provides the best performance in computation time.