Assembly line balancing: a set of challenging problems

SUMMARY Various techniques have been proposed for solution of the assembly line balancing problem. To demonstrate their efficacy, sample problems have been employed. In recent years, a common set of problems have often been used. This paper examines that set and shows that in light of the state of the art in algorithm development and computer technology, the existing literature set is inadequate as a benchmark. A new set of problems, based upon the previous set, but which is more challenging is proposed. A simple, but effective algorithm is employed to allow focus on the problems; a commonly available microcomputer, easily compared with mainframes or other micros, is employed for timing results.