Operations Research 2025
Abstract Submission

2174. Integrating Worker Preferences in Disassembly Line Balancing

Invited abstract in session WE-10: Flow Lines and Fairness Considerations, stream Supply Chain Management and Production.

Wednesday, 16:30-18:00
Room: H16

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Christian Weckenborg
Institute of Automotive Management and Industrial Production, Technische Universität Braunschweig
2. Judith Schulze
Institute of Automotive Management and Industrial Production, Technische Universität Braunschweig
3. Kerstin Schmidt
Institute of Automotive Management and Industrial Production, Technische Universität Braunschweig
4. Thomas Spengler
Institute of Automotive Management and Industrial Production, Technische Universität Braunschweig

Abstract

Product and material recovery requires systematically dismantling products to enable parts reuse and recycling. The most efficient way to achieve this is by establishing a disassembly line.
However, disassembly tasks vary widely, ranging from physically demanding operations to tasks requiring precision and patience. Assigning tasks to workers without considering their individual preferences may lead to dissatisfaction due to perceived unfairness in task allocation.
At the same time, a disassembly line must be economically viable, making it necessary to explore the interplay between preference fulfillment and profitability. However, the integration of profit maximization and the fulfillment of workers' preferences from an equity perspective has not yet been studied in disassembly line balancing.
This paper proposes a multi-objective mixed-integer linear program that determines the number of workstations, defines the disassembly depth, and assigns workers to tasks and stations. The problem is solved using a lexicographic approach that prioritizes profit maximization, with worker preference fulfillment as the secondary objective. Results from exemplary instances show workers' preferences can be adequately considered at a low loss of profit.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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