Reconfigurable Production Line Design Method for Human Workers – Robotic Cell Collaborated Line Considering Worker’s Attitude Toward Work

Abstract

In recent years, manufacturing companies have faced difficulties in securing sufficient production capabilities at factories because of many regional risks, such as natural calamities and epidemics. A production line should be designed to be reconfigured to adapt to various risks for satisfying its demands. This paper proposes a flexible and reconfigurable production line composed of a combination of line workers and multipurpose equipment called robotic cells. A robotic cell performs work (similar to a worker) using a programmable arm robot. The required tasks are allocated to workers or robots. However, it is difficult to design the line configuration and task allocation, because the number of combinations is large. Additionally, the production efficiency fluctuates depending on the correlations between the worker’s attitude, skill level, and allocated tasks. This paper describes a production-line design method using a genetic algorithm. The proposed method maximizes the availability ratio and minimizes the cost of the production line by considering the worker’s attitude toward the work.